no abstract

Independent databases of nuclear constants for Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) have been independently maintained by the physics and chemistry communities for many year. They contain thermal neturon cross sections s0, standardization values k0, and transition probabilities Pg. Chemistry databases tend to rely upon direct measurements of the nuclear constants k0 and Pg which are often published in chemistry journals while the physics databases typically include evaluated s0 and Pg data from a variety of experiments published mainly in physics journals. The IAEA/LBNL Evaluated Gamma-ray Activation File (EGAF) also contains prompt and delayed g-ray cross sections sg from Prompt Gamma-ray Activation Analysis (PGAA) measurements that can also be used to determine k0 and s0 values. As a result several independent databases of fundamental constants for NAA have evolved containing slightly different and sometimes discrepant results. An IAEA CRP for a Reference Database for Neutron Activation Analysis was established to compare these databases and investigate the possibilitiy of producing a self-consistent set of s0, k0, sg, and Pg values for NAA and other applications. Preliminary results of this IAEA CRP comparison are given in this paper.

The second meeting of the Co-ordinated Research Project on "Reference Database for Neutron Activation Analysis" was held at the IAEA, Vienna from 7-9 May, 2007. A summary of the presentations made by participants is given, along with reports on specifically assigned tasks and subsequent discussions. In order to meet the overall objectives of this CRP, the outputs have been reiterated and new task assignments made.

We have uncovered a thin layer of magnetic grains and microspherules, carbon spherules, and glass-like carbon at nine sites across North America, a site in Belgium, and throughout the rims of 16 Carolina Bays. It is consistent with the ejecta layer from an impact event and has been dated to 12.9 ka BP coinciding with the onset of Younger Dryas (YD) cooling and widespread megafaunal extinctions in North America. At many locations the impact layer is directly below a black mat marking the sudden disappearance of the megafauna and Clovis people. The distribution pattern of the Younger Dryas boundary (YDB) ejecta layer is consistent with an impact near the Great Lakes that deposited terrestrial-like ejecta near the impact site and unusual, titanium-rich projectile-like ejecta further away. High water content associated with the ejecta, up to 28 at. percent hydrogen (H), suggests the impact occurred over the Laurentide Ice Sheet. YDB microspherules and magnetic grains are highly enriched in TiO2. Magnetic grains from several sites are enriched in iridium (Ir), up to 117 ppb. The TiO2/FeO, K/Th, TiO2/Zr, Al2O3/FeO+MgO, CaO/Al2O3, REE/ chondrite, FeO/MnO ratios and SiO2, Na2O, K2O, Cr2O3, Ni, Co, U, Th and other trace element abundances are inconsistent with all terrestrial and extraterrestrial (ET) sources except for KREEP, a lunar igneous rock rich in potassium (K), rare-earth elements (REE), phosphorus (P), and other incompatible elements including U and Th. Normal Fe, Ti, and 238U/235U isotopic abundances were found in the magnetic grains, but 234U was enriched over equilibrium values by 50 percent in Murray Springs and by 130 percent in Belgium. 40K abundance is enriched by up to 100 percent in YDB sediments and Clovis chert artifacts. Highly vesicular carbon spherules containing nanodiamonds, glass-like carbon, charcoal and soot found in large quantities in the YDB layer are consistent with an impact followed by intense burning. Four holes in the Great Lakes, some deeper than Death Valley, are proposed as possible craters produced by the airburst breakup of a loosely aggregated projectile.

The onset of >1000 years of Younger Dryas cooling, broad-scale extinctions, and the disappearance of the Clovis culture in North America simultaneously occurred 12,900 years ago followed immediately by the appearance of a carbon-rich black layer at many locations. In situ bones of extinct megafauna and Clovis tools occur only beneath this black layer and not within or above it. At the base of the black mat at 9 Clovis-age sites in North America and a site in Belgium numerous extraterrestrial impact markers were found including magnetic grains highly enriched in iridium, magnetic microspherules, vesicular carbon spherules enriched in cubic, hexagonal, and n-type nanodiamonds, glass-like carbon containing Fullerenes and nanodiamonds, charcoal, soot, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The same impact markers were found mixed throughout the sediments of 15 Carolina Bays, elliptical depressions along the Atlantic coast, whose parallel major axes point towards either the Great Lakes or Hudson Bay. The magnetic grains and spherules have an unusual Fe/Ti composition similar to lunar Procellarum KREEP Terrane and the organic constituents are enriched in 14C leading to radiocarbon dates often well into the future. These characteristics are inconsistent with known meteorites and suggest that the impact was by a previous unobserved, possibly extrasolar body. The concentration of impact markers peaks near the Great Lakes and their unusually high water content suggests that a 4.6 km-wide comet fragmented and exploded over the Laurentide Ice Sheet creating numerous craters that now persist at the bottom of the Great Lakes. The coincidence of this impact, the onset of Younger Dryas cooling, extinction of the megafauna, and the appearance of a black mat strongly suggests that all these events are directly related. These results have unleashed an avalanche of controversy which I will address in this paper.

Potential problems associated with nuclear data for neutron activation analysis were identified, the scope of the work to be undertaken was defined together with its priorities, and tasks were assigned to participants. Data testing and measurements refer to gamma spectrumpeak evaluations, detector efficiency calibration, neutron spectrum characteristics and reference materials analysis.

Potential problems associated with nuclear data for neutron activation analysis were identified, the scope of the work to be undertaken was defined together with its priorities, and tasks were assigned to participants. Data testing and measurements refer to gamma spectrum peak evaluations, detector efficiency calibration, neutron spectrum characteristics and reference materials analysis.

The main discussions and conclusions from the Third Co-ordination Meeting on the Development of a Database for Prompt Gamma-ray Neutron Activation Analysis are summarised in this report. All results were reviewed in detail, and the final version of the TECDOC and the corresponding software were agreed upon and approved for preparation. Actions were formulated with the aim of completing the final version of the TECDOC and associated software by May 2003.