IMPRS short course 'Radiocarbon in Ecology and Earth System Science Short Course'

This radiocarbon short course introduces participants to radiocarbon (origin, measurement techniques, and nomenclature) and the use of radiocarbon to study timescales of carbon cycling in atmospheric, marine, and terrestrial reservoirs, as well as aspects applied to paleo-climate research. The course will combine lectures, research talks and tutorials about sampling and laboratory preparation AMS analysis. Participants will use actual radiocarbon data sets to learn how to analyze and interpret radiocarbon data and how to use radiocarbon-specific R-packages.

The course is based on our textbook Radiocarbon and Climate Change (2016) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-25643-6.

Confirmed lecturers include recognized leaders in the field of radiocarbon applications to environmental sciences, which includes: Susan Trumbore, Claudia Czimczik, Ted Schuur, Xiaomei Xu, among others.

1. When
This is a week-long course and it will take place between July 13 and 17, 2026.

2. Where
Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany.

3. Preliminary Agenda
The course will include lectures and tutorials on

• The global carbon cycle and radiocarbon
• Radiocarbon nomenclature
• Fundamentals of Accelerator Mass Spectrometry
• Sampling and sample preparation best practices
• The terrestrial carbon cycle and radiocarbon
• The atmosphere and radiocarbon
• The ocean and radiocarbon
• Modeling of radiocarbon in open systems

4. Registration

Participation in this course is free of charge, but participants must cover their own travel and accommodation expenses. The course is limited to 25 participants, and we will only select those who are currently working with radiocarbon or have concrete plans to use radiocarbon in the future.

To register, please fill in the form in this link and provide a statement indicating your previous background, your plans to use radiocarbon, and what topic in particular you would like to learn during this course. Questions can be addressed by email to Carlos A. Sierra at csierra@bgc-jena.mpg.de.