scholarly journals The Best possible Time resolution: How precise could a Radiocarbon dating method be?

Radiocarbon ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 61 (6) ◽  
pp. 1729-1740 ◽  
Author(s):  
I Svetlik ◽  
A J T Jull ◽  
M Molnár ◽  
P P Povinec ◽  
T Kolář ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Time Resolution ◽  
Calibration Curve ◽  
Time Scale ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Time Intervals ◽  
High Slope ◽  
Resolution Curve ◽  
Dating Method ◽  
Fine Time

ABSTRACTToday, accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) technology enables us to carry out very precise measurements of radiocarbon (14C). Unfortunately, due to fluctuations in the 14C calibration curve, the resulting calibrated time intervals vary from decades up to centuries in calibrated age. Within a time scale of several decades, we can find several time intervals on the 14C calibration curve which correspond with periods of rapid increases in atmospheric 14CO2 activity. Some of these “high slope” parts of the calibration curve could be used for fine time resolution for radiocarbon dating of individual samples. Nevertheless, there are certain limitations owing to the properties of the samples measured. We have prepared a time-resolution curve for the 14C dating method, applying calibration curve IntCal13 and assuming an uncertainty of 14C analyses ±15 yr BP (for recent samples). Our curve of the time resolution covers the last 50 ka. We found several time intervals with time resolution below 50 yr BP for the last 3 ka. Several time intervals which can enable substantially better time resolution compared to neighboring parts of the calibration curve were also found for periods older than 3 ka.

scholarly journals A 40,000-Year Varve Chronology from Lake Suigetsu, Japan: Extension of the 14C Calibration Curve

Radiocarbon ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 505-515 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroyuki Kitagawa ◽  
Johannes Van Der Plicht
Keyword(s):  
Tree Ring ◽  
Calibration Curve ◽  
Time Scale ◽  
Mass Spectrometric ◽  
Laminated Sediments ◽  
Varve Chronology ◽  
Total Range ◽  
Dating Method ◽  
Annually Laminated Sediments ◽  
Potential Tool

A sequence of annually laminated sediments is a potential tool for calibrating the radiocarbon time scale beyond the range of the absolute tree-ring calibration (11 ka). We performed accelerator mass spectrometric (AMS) 14C measurements on >250 terrestrial macrofossil samples from a 40,000-yr varve sequence from Lake Suigetsu, Japan. The results yield the first calibration curve for the total range of the 14C dating method.

scholarly journals Mortar Dating Using AMS 14C and Sequential Dissolution: Examples from Medieval, Non-Hydraulic Lime Mortars from the Åland Islands, SW Finland

Radiocarbon ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alf Lindroos ◽  
Jan Heinemeier ◽  
Åsa Ringbom ◽  
Mats Braskén ◽  
Ámy Sveinbjörnsdóttir
Keyword(s):  
Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Pressure Curve ◽  
Direct Relation ◽  
Hydraulic Lime ◽  
Carbonate Formation ◽  
Lime Mortars ◽  
Dating Method ◽  
Total Dissolution

Non-hydraulic mortars contain datable binder carbonate with a direct relation to the time when it was used in a building, but they also contain contaminants that disturb radiocarbon dating attempts. The most relevant contaminants either have a geological provenance and age or they can be related to delayed carbonate formation or devitrification and recrystallization of the mortar. We studied the mortars using cathodoluminescence (CL), mass spectrometry (MS), and accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) in order to identify, characterize, and date different generations of carbonates. The parameters—dissolution rate, 13C/12C and 18O/16O ratios, and 14C age—were measured or calculated from experiments where the mortars were dissolved in phosphoric acid and each successive CO2 increment was collected, analyzed, and dated. Consequently, mortar dating comprises a CL characterization of the sample and a CO2 evolution pressure curve, a 14C age, and stable isotope profiles from at least 5 successive dissolution increments representing nearly total dissolution. The data is used for modeling the interfering effects of the different carbonates on the binder carbonate age. The models help us to interpret the 14C age profiles and identify CO2 increments that are as uncontaminated as possible. The dating method was implemented on medieval and younger mortars from churches in the Åland Archipelago between Finland and Sweden. The results are used to develop the method for a more general and international use.

scholarly journals Problems in the Extension of the Radiocarbon Calibration Curve (10–13 kyr BP)

Radiocarbon ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irena Hajdas ◽  
Susan D. Ivy-Ochs ◽  
Georges Bonani
Keyword(s):  
Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Time Scales ◽  
Calibration Curve ◽  
Accelerator Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Late Glacial ◽  
Varved Lake Sediments ◽  
Ams Dating ◽  
Varve Counting ◽  
Radiocarbon Calibration

Radiocarbon dating of varved lake sediments shows that, during the Late Glacial (10–12 kyr bp), the offset between the 14C and the absolute time scales was ca. 1 kyr. Varve counting and accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dating were used to build absolute and 14C time scales of sediments from two lakes—Soppensee, Switzerland and Holzmaar, Germany. The resulting chronologies extend back to ca. 12.9 kyr cal bp (12.1 kyr bp) in the case of Soppensee and to ca. 13.8 kyr cal BP (12.6 kyr bp) in the Holzmaar record. They compare well with each other but differ significantly from the 14C-U/Th chronology of corals (Bard et al. 1993; Edwards et al. 1993).

‘Absolute’ dating of Mesolithic human activity at Star Carr, Yorkshire: new palaeoecological studies and identification of the 9600 bp radiocarbon ‘plateau’

1994 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 417-422 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. P. Day ◽  
P. A. Mellars
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Human Activity ◽  
Calibration Curve ◽  
Time Scale ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Glacial Period ◽  
Absolute Dating ◽  
First Time

The existence of a ‘radiocarbon plateau’ at 9600 BP causes problems for early Mesolithic archaeology and palaeoecology, since events separated by up to 400 calendar years are not distinguished by radiocarbon dating. A new sequence of closely spaced radiocarbon accelerator dates from waterlogged deposits at the early Mesolithic site at Star Carr, Yorkshire, has enabled recognition of this plateau. It has been possible to ‘wiggle-match’ these Star Carr dates to the recently produced dendrochronological calibration curve for the early post-glacial period, providing an ‘absolute’ chronology for formation of the deposits. Associated high resolution palaeoecological analyses indicate two local phases of human activity, the lengths of which can be estimated from the calibrated time-scale. As far as we are aware, this is the first time that it has been possible to provide ‘absolute’ dates for human activity at an early Mesolithic site in Europe.

scholarly journals AMS Radiocarbon Dating Problems Between 10 and 8 Ka BP in Lacustrine Deposits from Lake Gun Nur, Northern Mongolia

Radiocarbon ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 501-509 ◽  
Author(s):  
F Q Chang ◽  
H C Zhang ◽  
Q Z Ming ◽  
G J Chen ◽  
W X Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Geomagnetic Field ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Lower Atmosphere ◽  
Insoluble Residue ◽  
Time Intervals ◽  
Ams Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Lacustrine Deposits ◽  
Northern Mongolia ◽  
Geomagnetic Field Strength

Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dating a continuous core from Lake Gun Nur, northern Mongolia, shows a period between 10 and 8 ka BP that could not be dated accurately. Further dating on alkali-insoluble residue and humic acid from the same samples in the Gun Nur core suggest that this AMS 14C date anomaly is neither analytical nor material related. We hypothesize that the 14C anomaly may be derived from increasing production rates of 14C caused by diminished solar activity, a low 14CO2/14CO ratio in the atmosphere, or an unstable 14C flux in the lower atmosphere caused by changing geomagnetic field strength. Our results imply that the 14C data used for 14C age calibration cannot correct the age-depth regression between 8 and 10 ka BP to fit the age-depth model along with other time intervals.

scholarly journals Radiocarbon dating and its applications in Quaternary studies

2008 ◽  
Vol 57 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 2-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irka Hajdas
Keyword(s):  
Sample Preparation ◽  
Calibration Curve ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Anthropogenic Impacts ◽  
Late Glacial ◽  
Tree Ring Chronology ◽  
Typical Sample ◽  
Dating Method ◽  
Preparation Techniques ◽  
Global Carbon

Abstract. This paper gives an overview of the origin of 14C, the global carbon cycle, anthropogenic impacts on the atmospheric 14C content and the background of the radiocarbon dating method. For radiocarbon dating, important aspects are sample preparation and measurement of the 14C content. Recent advances in sample preparation allow better understanding of long-standing problems (e.g., contamination of bones), which helps to improve chronologies. In this review, various preparation techniques applied to typical sample types are described. Calibration of radiocarbon ages is the final step in establishing chronologies. The present tree ring chronology-based calibration curve is being constantly pushed back in time beyond the Holocene and the Late Glacial. A reliable calibration curve covering the last 50,000-55,000 yr is of great importance for both archaeology as well as geosciences. In recent years, numerous studies have focused on the extension of the radiocarbon calibration curve (INTCAL working group) and on the reconstruction of palaeo-reservoir ages for marine records.

scholarly journals THE BEST POSSIBLE TIME RESOLUTION: HOW PRECISE COULD A RADIOCARBON DATING METHOD BE? – ADDENDUM

Radiocarbon ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
pp. 1527-1527
Author(s):  
I Svetlik ◽  
A J T Jull ◽  
M Molnár ◽  
P P Povinec ◽  
T Kolář ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Time Resolution ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Dating Method

scholarly journals Radiocarbon Dating History: Early Days, Questions, and Problems Met

Radiocarbon ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingrid U Olsson
Keyword(s):  
Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Statistical Analysis ◽  
Carbon Cycle ◽  
Tree Rings ◽  
Accelerator Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Radioactive Decay ◽  
Human Tissues ◽  
Dating Method ◽  
The Impact

W F Libby's new dating method from the 1940s, based on experience in physics and chemistry, opened possibilities to check and revise chronologies built on other principles than radioactive decay. Libby's method initially implied collaboration with archaeologists to demonstrate that it worked but also with physicists to improve the technique to measure low β– activities. Chemists, geophysicists, botanists, physiologists, statisticians, and other researchers have contributed to a prosperous interdisciplinary development. Some pitfalls were not recognized from the beginning, although issues such as contamination problems were foreseen by Libby. Pretreatment of samples was discussed very early by de Vries and collaborators, among others. This subject has not yet been abandoned. Closely related to pretreatment is the choice of fraction to be dated and chemicals to be used, especially for accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) measurements. Calibration against tree rings and comparison with dates obtained using other methods as well as intercomparison projects are partly history but still very actual. The impact by man and climate is also studied since the early days of the method. Also, the carbon cycle has been of great interest. The tools for measurements and statistical analysis have been improved during these first 3 or 4 decades, allowing interpretations not possible earlier. δ13C determinations are mostly very important and useful, but sometimes they have been misleading in discussions of the origin of carbon, especially for human tissues—the metabolism was not yet fully understood. The history and development of the method can only be illustrated by selected examples in a survey like this.

High Resolution Measurements of Pollution Wash-Off from an Asphalt Surface

1992 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 245-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Å. Spångberg ◽  
J. Niemczynowicz
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
High Resolution ◽  
Time Resolution ◽  
Quality Data ◽  
Rainfall Runoff ◽  
Water Quality Data ◽  
Urban Catchment ◽  
Complex Process ◽  
Surface Measurements ◽  
Fine Time

The paper describes a measurement project aiming at delivering water quality data with the very fine time resolution necessary to discover deterministic elements of the complex process of pollution wash-off from an urban surface. Measurements of rainfall, runoff, turbidity, pH, conductivity and temperature with 10 sec time resolution were performed on a simple urban catchment, i.e. a single impermeable 270 m2 surface drained by one inlet. The paper presents data collection and some preliminary results.

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