Our Work
Prior to benzene synthesis, all samples are
pre-treated to ensure removal of any carbon that
might not have been indigenous to the sample at
its time of formation. Pre-treatment is assessed
based on our knowledge of sample provenance, and
we therefore require a detailed sample
submission form for all samples we analyse.
We are primarily a research laboratory but we
also carry out analysis on a commercial basis at
competitive rates.  Details
of our prices and sample
requirements are linked to this page. Some of
our research interests include the formation and
history of Irish Peatlands, and the dating of
pine expansion phases recorded as sub-fossil wood
preserved in the peat.
We are also involved in modelling exchange
processes in order to determine residence times
of groundwaters in Irish aquifers. This work
includes radiocarbon analysis of carbonates
precipitated from water taken from wells and
boreholes. The radiocarbon data are then used in
conjunction with chemical (including stable
isotope) analysis of groundwater and bedrock to
model catchment processes and estimate the age of
the waters.
We have an ongoing project in which we are
dating materials recovered from 'drowned bogs'.
Ireland is endowed with some unusual sites where
peat of terrestrial origin are now below sea
level. These sites provide an excellent
opportunity for the study of rates of change in
relative sea level through time.
We are involved in numerous projects in which
we are dating lake core sediments combining C-14,
Pb-210, Cs-137 and Am-241 analyses and we have
excellent facilities for analysis of all of these
isotopes in our laboratory.
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