Fifield, L KeithTims, StephenStone, John OArgento, David C.De Cesare, M.2015-12-13March 20-2http://hdl.handle.net/1885/71379Some potential applications of the isotopes 36Cl and 236U require higher sensitivity than is normally required or achieved. For 36Cl, one such application is the measurement of the 36Cl/Cl ratio of seawater. We show that, with appropriate precautions to reduce the effect of ion-source memory, it is possible to reach blank levels below 10-16 in the 36Cl/Cl ratio. Measurements of a series of seawater and sea salt samples yield a blank-corrected 36Cl/Cl ratio of present-day sea water of 0.71 ± 0.08 × 10-15. For 236U, one potential application is as a prospecting tool, where sensitivities in the 236U/238U ratio at the 10-13 level are desirable. We demonstrate that this sensitivity can be achieved for 24 MeV uranium ions with time-of-flight detection over a 6.0 m flight path.Keywords: Accelerator mass spectrometry; Australian National University; Chlorine-36; Potential applications; Sea salts; Time of flight; Uranium ion; Uranium-236; Chlorine; Isotopes; Mass spectrometry; Seawater; Uranium Accelerator mass spectrometry; Chlorine-36; Uranium-236201310.1016/j.nimb.2012.04.0282016-02-24