Huon pine is endemic to Tasmania. It has well-defined annual rings, may live for over 2000 years, and is particularly resistant to decay. Celery-top pine has similar characteristics and may live for 800 years. As part of a multi-disciplinary study of these trees and their habitat, a simple wood pretreatment method for isotope analysis is described. The solvent-acid-alkali-acid sequence yields a value of Δ14C = −16 ± 6‰ for AD 1941–45 Huon pine heartwood; Δ14C for extracts containing various proportions of post-AD 1955 carbon are also presented. Δ14C measurements on super-canopy and sub-canopy leaves from Celery-top pines are compared and used to place an upper limit of 10% on the amount of sub-canopy CO2 assimilated by sapling leaves, originating from decaying litter-mass. 14C ages from well-preserved logs illustrate the potential for a continuous Holocene chronology from 7400 years BP to the present. A 12,000-year-old Celery-top log has also been found.

14C activity measurements were used to investigate the growth pattern of the stem of a palm tree (Cocos nucifera) which does not form annual rings. The results reveal that there was no diffuse secondary growth (thickening of the stem) over the entire mature stem during the last 25 years of growth, with the exception of a restricted zone in the center at medium height.

13C and 14C analyses were performed on a series of modern Jamaican land snails in order to quantitatively determine the sources of shell carbon. A model of these carbon sources, the pathways by which carbon reaches the shell, and the fractionation processes involved are presented. The contribution of limestone to shell carbonate is variable but may comprise up to 33% of the shell. About 25–40% of shell carbonate is derived from plants and about 30–60% from atmospheric CO2. Variation among populations and species with respect to 13C and 14C is attributed to the effects of limestone incorporation, snail size (as it affects CO2 exchange rate), physiological characteristics (presence of urease, respiration rate), and activity patterns of the snails. A formula for correction for isotopic fractionation of 14C of shell carbonate, based on 13C measurements, is derived. Bicarbonate-aragonite fractionation is apparently very minimal. Shell organic carbon appears to be derived largely from plants but also to a lesser extent from inorganic hemolymph carbon. This introduces the possibility of a small age anomaly of shell organic 14C due to limestone incorporation.

The Instituto de Geocronología Geología Isotópica (INGEIS) belongs to the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientifícas y Técnicas (CONICET) of Argentina and is supported by another six government institutions. Its headquarters are located in the Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales of the Universidad de Buenos Aires.

The following list contains most of the measurements of geologic samples made during 1979 and 1980 using carbon-dioxide-filled proportional counters. Samples with laboratory numbers > 1000 were counted with counter No. 1 (L1), and those with numbers < 1000, with counter No. 3 (L3), described by Mościcki and Zastawny (1977). Actual parameters of both counters were given in our previous date list (R, 1982, v 24, p 172).

This list contains the results of 14C age determinations obtained at the laboratory in 1981–1982. Samples are analyzed in three new proportional counters which are described in R, 1980, v 22, p 442. Our installation differs from that of Heidelberg in that our filling gas is methane.

Most of the 14C measurements reported here were made between October 1981 and October 1982. Equipment, measurement, and treatment of samples are as reported previously (R, 1968, v 10, p 36–37; 1976, v 18, p 290; 1980, v 22, p 1045).

The following list summarizes the post-1970 laboratory results of 14C dating of ancient sea-level indicators from the coasts of the Soviet Union. One of the aims of the International Geologic Correlation Programme Project No. 61 “Sea level movements during the last deglacial hemicycle” is the global cataloguing and mapping of ancient sea levels. The laboratory, which acts as the USSR National curator for these age measurements obtains dates sampled from its own expeditions and from other institutions of the country.

This list reports measurements made on archaeologic samples by our laboratory from September 1980 to May 1982. Results of measurements made during that period which lack review by submitters will be reported in a subsequent date list. Dates were obtained by liquid scintillation counting of benzene using the laboratory procedure outlined previously (R, 1982, v 24, p 344–351). All dates are expressed in 14C years relative to ad 1950 based on the Libby half-life for 14C of 5568 yr. The laboratory standard continues to be ANU sucrose. Data analysis is now performed with the aid of an RT-11 microcomputer interfaced with our Packard model 3255 LS counter. Dates have been corrected for isotopic fractionation only when the δ13C value is given. No corrections have been made for natural 14C variations. The following descriptions of samples are based on information provided by the submitters.

This list comprises age measurements carried out at the Institute from 1979 to 1981. Anticoincidence variant was applied to attain higher counting efficiency of a 2-channel scintillation device. The introduction of a plastic scintillator as an active guard around the detector in the 2π geometry decreases the influence of high energy cosmic radiation and reduces the background ca 35 to 75% (Rajamäe & Punning, 1980). The application of an active guard with 4π geometry has proved most effective; as a result, the background decreased 85% to 0.65cpm with the volume of scintillation cocktail 5ml. We have improved our methods for decreasing the actual error of the background. The application of a control channel and consideration of barometric effect results in the increase of dating limits of up to 5000–6000 years (Rajamäe, 1981). Samples are calculated using a half-life of 5568 ± 30 years for 14C. Results are reported in years before 1950. δ13C measurements were performed on the mass-spectrometer MI-1201 and are reported with PDB as a reference standard. The reproducibility of results is ±0.2‰.

Radiocarbon dates reported in this date list are totally derived from a cooperative effort between the Romanian Institute of Geology and Geophysics and the Center for Applied Isotope Studies (CAIS). The project was carried out between 1972 through 1978. The purpose of the study was to add to the knowledge of the various stages of the Holocene development of the Danube and Black Sea (Ghenea et al, 1971; Panin, 1976).

The following radiocarbon dates are a partial list of samples measured for a variety of projects and materials since May 1982. Chemical and counting procedures remain the same as indicated in R, v 20, p 274–282.

Calculations are based on the 5568-year Libby 14C half-life. Precision is reported as one-standard deviation based only on statistical counting uncertainties in the measurement of the background, NBS modern standard, and sample activities. δ13C values are measured relative to PDB and reported ages are corrected for isotopic fractionation by normalizing to −25‰.

Measurements have continued with the same proportional counter system, pretreatment procedure, methane preparation and measurement, and calculation, as described previously (R, 1970, v 12, p 298–318). Uncertainties quoted are single standard deviations originating from standard, sample, and background counting rates. No 13C/12C ratios were measured. Sample descriptions have been prepared in cooperation with submitters.