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14C Calibration Curves for Modern Plant Material from Tropical Regions of South America

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

James R Ehleringer ,
John F Casale ,
Janet E Barnette ,
Xiaomei Xu ,
Michael J Lott  and
Janet Hurley
James R Ehleringer*
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, USA. IsoForensics, Inc., P.O. Box 581260, Salt Lake City, Utah 84158, USA.
John F Casale
Affiliation:
Special Testing and Research Laboratory, US Drug Enforcement Administration, 22624 Dulles Court, Dulles, Virginia 20166, USA.
Janet E Barnette
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, USA. IsoForensics, Inc., P.O. Box 581260, Salt Lake City, Utah 84158, USA.
Xiaomei Xu
Affiliation:
Department of Earth System Science, University of California, Irvine, California 92697, USA.
Michael J Lott
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, USA. IsoForensics, Inc., P.O. Box 581260, Salt Lake City, Utah 84158, USA.
Janet Hurley
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, USA.
*
Corresponding author. Email: jim.ehleringer@utah.edu.
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Abstract

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Two Δ14C calibration curves have been produced that allow determination of the statistical average age of coca leaf and cocaine base specimens produced for the time period 1979–2009. These calibration curves are based on field collections of specimens in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. The coca leaf F14C and Δ14C calibration curves can be used to predict the ages of botanical tissues collected in tropical South America and possibly extended to other tropical locations. The cocaine F14C and Δ14C calibration curves can be used to predict the ages of seized cocaine specimens. Because the Δ14C of the atmosphere is diminishing, the precision of this approach for age determinations will continue to get less precise over time as atmospheric 14C content continues to decline.

Type
Articles
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 53 , Issue 4 , 2011 , pp. 585 - 594
Copyright
Copyright © The Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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