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Stepped-Combustion 14C Dating of Bomb Carbon in Lake Sediment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

J McGeehin ,
G S Burr ,
G Hodgins ,
S J Bennett ,
J A Robbins ,
N Morehead  and
H Markewich
J McGeehin
Affiliation:
US Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia, USA. Corresponding author. Email: mcgeehin@usgs.gov
G S Burr
Affiliation:
University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA.
G Hodgins
Affiliation:
University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA.
S J Bennett
Affiliation:
State University of New York, Buffalo, New York, USA.
J A Robbins
Affiliation:
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
N Morehead
Affiliation:
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
H Markewich
Affiliation:
US Geological Survey, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
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Abstract

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In this study, we applied a stepped-combustion approach to dating post-bomb lake sediment from north-central Mississippi. Samples were combusted at a low temperature (400 °) and then at 900 °. The CO2 was collected separately for both combustions and analyzed. The goal of this work was to develop a methodology to improve the accuracy of 14C dating of sediment by combusting at a lower temperature and reducing the amount of reworked carbon bound to clay minerals in the sample material. The 14C fraction modern results for the low and high temperature fractions of these sediments were compared with well-defined 137Cs determinations made on sediment taken from the same cores. Comparison of “bomb curves” for 14C and 137Cs indicate that low temperature combustion of sediment improved the accuracy of 14C dating of the sediment. However, fraction modern results for the low temperature fractions were depressed compared to atmospheric values for the same time frame, possibly the result of carbon mixing and the low sedimentation rate in the lake system.

Type
Part II
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 46 , Issue 2: Proceedings of the 18th International Radiocarbon Conference (Part 2 of 2), Conference Editors: Nancy Beavan Athfield, Rodger J Sparks , 2004 , pp. 893 - 900
Copyright
Copyright © The Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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