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Towards a Radiocarbon Calibration for Oxygen Isotope Stage 3 Using New Zealand Kauri (Agathis Australis)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

Chris S M Turney ,
L Keith Fifield ,
Jonathan G Palmer ,
Alan G Hogg ,
Mike G L Baillie ,
Rex Galbraith ,
John Ogden ,
Andrew Lorrey  and
Stephen G Tims
Chris S M Turney*
Affiliation:
GeoQuEST Research Centre, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia
L Keith Fifield
Affiliation:
Department of Nuclear Physics, Research School of Physical Sciences and Engineering, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia
Jonathan G Palmer
Affiliation:
Gondwana Tree Ring Laboratory, P.O. Box 14, Little River, Banks Peninsula, Canterbury 8162, New Zealand
Alan G Hogg
Affiliation:
Radiocarbon Laboratory, University of Waikato, Private Bag, Hamilton, New Zealand
Mike G L Baillie
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology and Palaeoecology, School of Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology, Queen's University, Belfast, BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
Rex Galbraith
Affiliation:
Department of Statistical Science, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
John Ogden
Affiliation:
School for Environmental & Marine Sciences, Tamaki Campus, Auckland University, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand
Andrew Lorrey
Affiliation:
School for Environmental & Marine Sciences, Tamaki Campus, Auckland University, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand
Stephen G Tims
Affiliation:
Department of Nuclear Physics, Research School of Physical Sciences and Engineering, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia
*
Corresponding author. Email: turney@uow.edu.au
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Abstract

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It is well known that radiocarbon years do not directly equate to calendar time. As a result, considerable effort has been devoted to generating a decadally resolved calibration curve for the Holocene and latter part of the last termination. A calibration curve that can be unambiguously attributed to changes in atmospheric 14C content has not, however, been generated beyond 26 kyr cal BP, despite the urgent need to rigorously test climatic, environmental, and archaeological models. Here, we discuss the potential of New Zealand kauri (Agathis australis) to define the structure of the 14C calibration curve using annually resolved tree rings and thereby provide an absolute measure of atmospheric 14C. We report bidecadally sampled 14C measurements obtained from a floating 1050-yr chronology, demonstrating repeatable 14C measurements near the present limits of the dating method. The results indicate that considerable scope exists for a high-resolution 14C calibration curve back through OIS-3 using subfossil wood from this source.

Type
Articles
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 49 , Issue 2 , 2007 , pp. 447 - 457
Copyright
Copyright © 2007 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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