Radiocarbon · 1993 · 1.1K citations · 29 references
Natural SciencesEarth SciencesMarine SciencesAtmospheric ChemistryAtmospheric ScienceGeochemistryAge AnalysisAge DeterminationCarbon CycleGeoarchaeological DatingMarine Isotope StratigraphyStable Isotope AnalysisAge StudiesIsotope-based Age EstimationMarine Core DatingRadiocarbon Age DatingRadiocarbon ChronologyRadiocarbon Dating CalibrationRadiometric Age CalibrationTree Growth Rings
Radiocarbon calibration using tree‑ring data provides precise age standards, but organisms from non‑atmospheric reservoirs have initial ¹⁴C activities that differ from the contemporaneous atmosphere, so their measured ¹⁴C reflects both decay and reservoir effects. Because conventional ¹⁴C age calculations incorporate measured sample activity, differences in reservoir ¹⁴C lead to apparent age offsets between contemporaneous samples from different reservoirs.
The detailed radiocarbon age vs. calibrated (cal) age studies of tree rings reported in this Calibration Issue provide a unique data set for precise 14 C age calibration of materials formed in isotopic equilibrium with atmospheric CO 2 . The situation is more complex for organisms formed in other reservoirs, such as lakes and oceans. Here the initial specific 14 C activity may differ from that of the contemporaneous atmosphere. The measured remaining 14 C activity of samples formed in such reservoirs not only reflects 14 C decay (related to sample age) but also the reservoir 14 C activity. As the measured sample 14 C activity figures into the calculation of a conventional 14 C age (Stuiver & Polach 1977), apparent 14 C age differences occur when contemporaneously grown samples of different reservoirs are dated.
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Discussion Reporting of <sup>14</sup>C Data
Minze Stuiver, Henry Polach · Radiocarbon · 1977 · 5.7K citations · Full text
Characterizing aquatic dissolved organic matter.
PubMed · 2003 · 4.9K citations