The C14 laboratory created by environment and climate physicist Hans Oeschger was a decisive element in establishing the reputation of climate research at Bern. The instrument developed by Oeschger at the end of the 1950s was so precise that for the first time scientists were able to measure even minute amounts of radioactivity. The proportional counter made it possible to conduct research into completely new environmental archives - not least the Greenland ice cores, the analysis and interpretation of which brought Oeschger international fame.
The new 1.8 million franc C14 laboratory was inaugurated at a formal ceremony in Bern on 3 May 2013: an accelerator mass spectrometer with various peripheral devices. Its predecessors filled entire sports halls. The mini version made at the ETH Zurich is not quite as big as two cars. The device known as MICADAS (MIni radioCArbon DAting System) is able to deal with much smaller samples than the Oeschger counter, and is so much simpler to operate that about ten times more measurements can be made in the same amount of time. Among other things, MICADAS is to be used for radio carbondating, for tracing environmental radioactivity and for analysing CO2 emissions.
Test samples a thousand times smaller
A replacement for the original C14 dating instrument, which is no longer able to cope with today's requirements, had been under discussion among researchers at Bern for a long time. They are working increasingly with samples in the milligram and microgram range and need to make large numbers of measurements. As a consequence, they have often been obliged to send their samples away to be analysed in laboratories scattered over half of Europe.
But it was only thanks to the momentum generated among the University of Bern's climate and environmental scientists by the Oeschger Centre that the acquisition of a new device took concrete shape. When a needs assessment was conducted, it emerged that about a dozen research groups needed to conduct C14 measurements for their projects - and were thus extremely interested in a user-friendly, efficient and inexpensive new measuring instrument. The work of these researchers ranges from the reconstruction of climate history, to improved understanding of the carbon cycle, to the identification of sources of air-borne particulate matter. "The MICADAS project is a prime example of the way in which the Oeschger Centre can pool strengths, exploit synergies and implement major projects," says its director Martin Grosjean.
Archaeologists, pharmacologists and art forgers
Finance for the new instrument came not only from the University of Bern but also from the Swiss National Science Foundation and the Federal Office of Public Health, which was already using C14 measurements performed in Bern to detect radioactive pollution from nuclear power stations and industrial plants. The new laboratory is open not only to researchers attached to the Oeschger Centre but to also to any other interested party. For example, archaeologists require dating that is as accurate as possible, and in the field of art C14 analysis is common practice. It is used to show quickly and conclusively whether a work is a forgery or not. And finally, C14 is playing an increasingly important role in drug development as a so-called tracer.
But MICADAS will be used mainly for climate research. Just as Hans Oeschger's C14 laboratory did exactly 55 years ago, this new cutting-edge installation will raise the profile of climate research in Bern. "Access to this facility will make our research groups attractive partners for international research projects," says Sönke Szidat, an expert in environmental radionuclides and leader of the team operating the instrument. "This will strengthen our position and improve the competitiveness of the University of Bern as a whole."
