bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Saclay Natural Radiocarbon Measurements I
Authors: Delibrias G. , Guillier M. T. , Labeyrie J. 
Published: July 2016

The following list shows the age measurements carried out at Saclay by the Service d'Electronique Physique, using the C14 method.The apparatus employed was completed and calibrated in 1956 and the first tests were performed during the same year. The counting unit is a 1.2 L stainless steel proportional counter and the filling gas is pure CO2 at 74 cm Hg pressure. The shield consists of 20 cm of lead, 10 cm of iron, a coincidence ring and 2 cm of bismuth. The background is 4.86 ± 0.05 counts/min. (Error is ± σ, the duration of each counting being 24 hours.) Final purification is performed by adsorption of CO2 on alumina at low temperature, followed by desorption at room temperature; this has proved particularly effective and gives a very good filling gas. Technique was described in detail previously by the authors (Perquis, Delibrias, and David, 1956; Delibrias and Perquis, 1958).As a modern carbon standard we first used wood taken from the 1930 to 1945 rings of a large Douglas fir; this standard gave a net count of 6.02 counts/min. This activity, taking into account a 2% Suess-effect for this wood, was found to be 95% of the activity of the NBS oxalic-acid standard, measured in the same counter.The NBS standard has been adopted by this laboratory since January 1961, and values given here are calculated from this new standard.Measurements listed are dates obtained from 1956 through 1962. No reports are given here from other types of measurements carried out at Saclay, such as: (1) C14 content of wild plants growing in the vicinity of nuclear reactors; (2) measurement of C14 in blood proteins of workers of the radioactive-tracers industry; (3) Spallation cross-sections for C14 production in oxygen and iron by high energy protons; (4) C14 content of meteorites.
Isotopes' Radiocarbon Measurements VI
Authors: Buckley James D. , Trautman Milton A. , Willis Eric H. 
Published: July 2016

This list presents dates on a portion of the samples measured at ISOTOPES since publication of Isotopes V, and for previously analyzed samples for which complete sample data are now available.Samples were analyzed by gas proportional counting of carbon dioxide at 3 atm pressure in counters of 1 1. volume. Each sample was assayed twice, in different counters and on different days.Procedures employed in sample preparation and age calculations have been described previously (Isotopes V).
University of Texas at Austin Radiocarbon Dates VI
Authors: Valastro S. , Davis E. Mott , Rightmire Craig T. 
Published: July 2016

This laboratory is now a part of the Bureau of Economic Geology, The University of Texas at Austin. The present list reports C14 measurements made in dating projects completed in the year ending November, 1967, and some measurements for projects still in progress. Age calculations are based on C14 half-life of 5568 yr and a modern standard of 95% of NBS oxalic acid. The deviations reported are based on the counting statistics of the sample, background, and modern, and are ± 1σ except that when the sample count approaches either the modern or the background, 2σ limits are reported. The laboratory continues to use liquid scintillation counting of benzene, using Li2C2 and vanadium activated catalyst in preparation, as described in Texas IV and earlier lists. Chemical yields now average 85%.Rightmire's caliche dating (done for an M.A. thesis in the Dept. of Geol.) is the principal project reported in this list; in addition to the research he prepared the samples in our laboratory and wrote the statements which accompany the list. Valastro is in charge of all technical operations in the laboratory, and he and Davis share the administrative responsibilities. Davis, who handles sample screening (with the aid of an Advisory Committee) and archaeological appraisal, compiled the list.
University of Wisconsin Radiocarbon Dates V
Authors: Bender Margaret M. , Bryson Reid A. , Baerreis David A. 
Published: July 2016

The radiocarbon dates obtained since August, 1967 are included in this report. The procedures followed have been described previously (Wisconsin II).The reported dates have been calculated using 5568 as the half-life of C14, 1950 as the reference year. Samples are run at least once in each of two counters at 3 atm pressure for a minimum of 15,000 counts. The standard deviation quoted includes only the 1σ of the counting statistics of background, sample, and standard counts.
British Museum Natural Radiocarbon Measurements XXII
Authors: Ambers Janet , Matthews Keith , Bowman Sheridan 
Published: July 2016

The following list consists of dates, obtained by liquid scintillation counting of benzene, for archaeologic samples mostly measured between June 1987 and October 1989.Charcoal and grain samples were pretreated with 1M HCl followed by washing in water and, where considered necessary, with dilute alkali for the removal of humic acids. Wood samples were treated either in the same way, or, where large enough, were reduced to cellulose by the action of chlorine dioxide producedin situ. All antler and bone samples were treated with cold dilute acid. The term ‘collagen’ is used throughout to mean the acid insoluble organic fraction produced by this treatment. Peat samples were treated with dilute acid and alkali to separate the humin and humic acid fractions, which were dated individually.
Minimal Extension Phases of Unteraarglacier (Swiss Alps) During the Holocene Based on 14C Analysis of Wood
Authors: Hormes Anne , Schlüchter Christian , Stocker Thomas F. 
Published: July 2016

Tree trunks and wood fragments in minerotrophic fen peat that accumulated as the result of a jökulhlaup in the outwash plain of Unteraarglacier were radiocarbon-dated using conventional ß-counting. Different pretreatment methods were tested on two wood samples to determine the reliability of our dates. We dated the wood compounds after extended acid-alkali-acid treatment, as well as extraction of cellulose and lignin. The results of the samples Picea (B-6687) and Pinus cent-bra (B-6699) show insignificant differences of < 1σ.The 14C dates represent retreat of Unteraarglacier due to warmer and/or drier phases in the Holocene compared to modern climate conditions. The glacier was at least several hundred meters smaller in extent than today ca. 8100–7670 bp, 6175–5780 bp, 4580–4300 bp, 4100–3600 bp and 3380–3200 bp. The 14C dates suggest a ca. 2000-yr cyclicity of tree growth in the area covered by the present Unteraarglacier. The most intense warm and dry period occurred between 4100 bp (probably extending back to 4580 bp) and 3600 bp, with growth of fen peat between 3800 and 3600 bp attributed to wetter conditions.
Further Application of Bomb 14C as a Tracer in the Atmosphere and Ocean
Authors: Nydal Reidar , Gislefoss Jorunn S. 
Published: July 2016

Bomb 14C from nuclear tests in the atmosphere has proved to be a particularly useful tool in the study of the carbon cycle. We provide here a ca. 30-yr time series of 14C concentrations in the atmosphere between 28°N and 71°N and in the ocean surface between 45°S and 45°N. More recently (since 1990), a north-south profile also has been obtained for 14C in the surface waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The measurements were performed using the conventional technique of beta counting or large samples (4 to 5 liter CO2) in CO2 proportional counters. These data show that the 14C concentration in the atmosphere is leveling off with a time constant of 0.055 yr-1, and is now approaching that of the ocean surface at lower latitudes.Additional tracer studies have been concerned especially with the penetration of bomb 14C into the deep ocean. The Norwegian and Greenland seas are of interest as a sink for atmospheric CO2 and also a source of water for the deep Atlantic Ocean. During the last five years, several 14C depth profiles have been measured from the Fram Strait (79°N) to south of Iceland (62°N), using the AMS technique available at the University of Arizona AMS Facility. We considered it important to repeat and compare a few of the profiles with those produced by the GEOSECS expedition in 1972 and the TTO expedition in 1981. The profiles show that water descending to the deep Atlantic Ocean is originating mainly from intermediate and surface depths in the Nordic Seas. However, the ventilation rate of the Norwegian Sea deepwater is too slow to be an important component in the transfer of water over the Greenland-Scotland Ridge.
New 14C Determinations from Lake Suigetsu, Japan: 12,000 to 0 Cal BP
Authors: Staff Richard A , Bronk Ramsey Christopher , Bryant Charlotte L , Brock Fiona , Payne Rebecca L , Schlolaut Gordon , Marshall Michael H , Brauer Achim , Lamb Henry F , Tarasov Pavel , Yokoyama Yusuke , Haraguchi Tsuyoshi , Gotanda Katsuya , Yonenobu Hitoshi , Nakagawa Takeshi ,   Suigetsu 2006 Project Members
Published: July 2016

Calibration is a fundamental stage of the radiocarbon (14C) dating process if one is to derive meaningful calendar ages from samples' 14C measurements. For the first time, the IntCal09 calibration curve (Reimer et al. 2009) provided an internationally ratified calibration data set across almost the complete range (0 to 50,000 cal BP) of the 14C timescale. However, only the last 12,550 cal yr of this record are composed of terrestrial data, leaving approximately three quarters of the 14C timescale necessarily calibrated via less secure, marine records (incorporating assumptions pertaining to the temporally variable “marine reservoir effect”). The predominantly annually laminated (varved) sediment profile of Lake Suigetsu, central Japan, offers an ideal opportunity to derive an extended terrestrial record of atmospheric 14C across the entire range of the method, through pairing of 14C measurements of terrestrial plant macrofossil samples (extracted from the sediment) with the independent chronology provided through counting of its annual laminations.This paper presents new data (182 14C determinations) from the upper (largely non-varved) 15 m of the Lake Suigetsu (SG06) sediment strata. These measurements provide evidence of excellent coherence between the Suigetsu 14C data and the IntCal09 calibration curve across the last ~12,000 cal yr (i.e. the portion of IntCal based entirely on terrestrial data). Such agreement demonstrates that terrestrial plant material picked from the Lake Suigetsu sediment provides a reliable archive of atmospheric 14C, and therefore supports the site as being capable of providing a high-resolution extension to the “wholly terrestrial” (i.e. non-reservoir-corrected) calibration curve beyond its present 12,550 cal BP limit.
Wiggle-Match Dating of Tree-Ring Sequences
Authors: Galimberti Mariagrazia , Bronk Ramsey Christopher , Manning Sturt W 
Published: July 2016

Given the non-monotonic form of the radiocarbon calibration curve, the precision of single 14C dates on the calendar timescale will always be limited. One way around this limitation is through comparison of time-series, which should exhibit the same irregular patterning as the calibration curve. This approach can be employed most directly in the case of wood samples with many years growth present (but not able to be dated by dendrochronology), where the tree-ring series of unknown date can be compared against the similarly constructed 14C calibration curve built from known-age wood. This process of curve-fitting has come to be called “wiggle-matching.”In this paper, we look at the requirements for getting good precision by this method: sequence length, sampling frequency, and measurement precision. We also look at 3 case studies: one a piece of wood which has been independently dendrochronologically dated, and two others of unknown age relating to archaeological activity at Silchester, UK (Roman) and Miletos, Anatolia (relating to the volcanic eruption at Thera).
Accelerator Mass Spectrometry at High Voltage Engineering Europa (HVEE)
Authors: Gottdang A , Klein M , Mous D J W 
Published: July 2016

In recent years, High Voltage Engineering Europa (HVEE) has demonstrated its capability of developing and installing turnkey accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) equipment for the analysis of, among others, 14C and 129I. Five 3MV systems using sequential and/or simultaneous injection are operational in the field today, and they have shown excellent long-term stability providing high-precision analyses on a routine basis. Another three AMS systems are in production. It is projected that for the time being, AMS will continue to broaden its field of applications; a saturation of the market of AMS facilities is not expected in the near future.To meet the specific demands of the biomedical research community, we have developed an extreme compact 14C AMS system comprising a hybrid ion source capable of handling both graphite as well as CO2 samples. The source is optimized for easy maintenance, accommodates up to 200 samples, and can be implemented in any other AMS system.More recently, HVEE has initiated the development of an AMS system capable of detecting, among others, 36Cl and 41Ca. The design will include a HVEE 5MV Tandetron™. The accelerator is currently under construction as part of an ion beam analysis system for the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid (Spain).
Pushing the Precision Limit of 14C AMS
Authors: Steier Peter , Dellinger Franz , Kutschera Walter , Priller Alfred , Rom Werner , Maria Wild Eva 
Published: July 2016

High precision for radiocarbon cannot be reached without profound insight into the various sources of uncertainty which only can be obtained from systematic investigations. In this paper, we present a whole series of investigations where in some cases 16O:17O:18O served as a substitute for 12C:13C:14C. This circumvents the disadvantages of event counting, providing more precise results in a much shorter time. As expected, not a single effect but a combination of many effects of similar importance were found to be limiting the precision.We will discuss the influence of machine tuning and stability, isotope fractionation, beam current, space charge effects, sputter target geometry, and cratering. Refined measurement and data evaluation procedures allow one to overcome several of these limitations. Systematic measurements on FIRI-D wood show that a measurement precision of ±20 14C yr (1 σ) can be achieved for single-sputter targets.
Calculating Sediment Compaction for Radiocarbon Dating of Intertidal Sediments
Authors: Bird M I , Fifield L K , Chua S , Goh B 
Published: July 2016

This study estimates the maximum and minimum degrees of autocompaction for radiocarbon-dated Holocene mangrove sediments in Singapore, in order to correct apparent sediment accretion rates for the effects of sediment compression due to autocompaction. Relationships developed for a suite of modern (surface) sediment samples between bulk density, particle-size distribution, and organic matter content were used to estimate the initial (uncompacted) bulk density of buried and variably compressed Holocene sediments, based on the grain-size distribution and organic matter content of the sediment. The difference between measured (compacted) and initial (uncompacted) bulk density of each buried sediment interval can be interpreted as the amount of length shortening experienced by each interval since burial. This allows the elevation of samples selected for 14C dating to be corrected for the effects of autocompaction of the underlying sediment sequence, so that accurate estimates of vertical sediment accretion rates can be calculated.The 3 Holocene mangrove sequences analyzed and dated for this study ranged in age from 2000 to 8500 cal BP. The effects of autocompaction are significant, even in comparatively thin sequences, with subsidence of up to 56 cm calculated for carbon-dated samples presently 2 m above incompressible basement. The vertical sediment accretion rates for these mangrove sequences ranged from 0.99 to 6.84 mm/yr and carbon sequestration rates ranged from 0.9 to 1.7 t/ha/yr, all within the range observed for comparable Holocene and modern mangrove sediments elsewhere.
The Source of the Yarkon Springs, Israel
Authors: Avisar D , Kronfeld J , Kolton J , Rosenthal E , Weinberger G 
Published: July 2016

Radiocarbon and tritium analyses are used to show that the accepted conceptual hydrological model of the Yarkon-Taninim aquifer is untenable. The conventional model would have the groundwater flow in the carbonate Judea Group aquifer from the Beer Sheva region in the south to discharge at the Yarkon springs. Moreover, the conventional model considers the Judea Group aquifer to be a single hydrological entity. However, analysis of the Yarkon springs and surrounding wells demonstrate that it is stratified into upper and lower aquifers.The water in the deeper aquifer is fresher, cooler and younger compared to the water in the overlying aquifer. The deeper aquifer water type is identical in composition to the Ca-Mg-HCO3 Judean Hills recharge water immediately to the east. It is this recharge water that is dominant at the Yarkon Springs. There appears to be no derived appreciable contribution of groundwater from the Beersheva region in the south. Thus the currently accepted hydrologic model is in need of serious revision. The present study introduces new and high quality groundwater resources to be target for exploitation.
An Information-Efficient Bayesian Model for AMS Data Analysis
Authors: Palonen V , Tikkanen P 
Published: July 2016

A Bayesian model for accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) data analysis is presented. Instrumental drift is modeled with a continuous autoregressive (CAR) process, and measurement uncertainties are taken to be Gaussian. All samples have a parameter describing their true value. The model adapts itself to different instrumental parameters based on the data, and yields the most probable true values for the unknown samples. The model is able to use the information in the measurements more efficiently. First, all measurements tell something about the overall instrument performance and possible drift. The overall machine uncertainty can be used to obtain realistic uncertainties even when the number of measurements per sample is small. Second, even the measurements of the unknown samples can be used to estimate the variations in the standard level, provided that the samples have been measured more than once. Third, the uncertainty of the standard level is known to be smaller nearer a standard. Fourth, even though individual measurements follow a Gaussian distribution, the end result may not.For simulated data, the new Bayesian method gives more accurate results and more realistic uncertainties than the conventional mean-based (MB) method. In some cases, the latter gives unrealistically small uncertainties. This can be due to the non-Gaussian nature of the final result, which results from combining few samples from a Gaussian distribution without knowing the underlying variance and from the normalization with an uncertain standard level. In addition, in some cases the standard error of the mean does not represent well the true error due to correlations within the measurements resulting from, for example, a changing trend. While the conventional method fails in these cases, the CAR model gives representative uncertainties.
Studies on the Preparation of Small 14C Samples with an RGA and 13C-Enriched Material
Authors: Liebl Jakob , Ortiz Roswitha Avalos , Golser Robin , Handle Florian , Kutschera Walter , Steier Peter , Wild Eva Maria 
Published: July 2016

The minimum size of radiocarbon samples for which reliable results can be obtained in an accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) measurement is in many cases limited by carbon contamination introduced during sample preparation (i.e. all physical and chemical steps to which samples were subjected, starting from sampling). Efforts to reduce the sample size limit down to a few μg carbon require comprehensive systematic investigations to assess the amount of contamination and the process yields. We are introducing additional methods to speed up this process and to obtain more reliable results. A residual gas analyzer (RGA) is used to study combustion and graphitization reactions. We could optimize the reaction process at small CO2 pressures and identify detrimental side reactions. Knowing the composition of the residual gas in a graphitization process allows a reliable judgment on the completeness of the reaction. Further, we use isotopically enriched 13C (≥98% 13C) as a test material to determine contamination levels. This offers significant advantages: 1) The measurement of 12C/13C in CO2 is possible on-line with the RGA, which significantly reduces turnaround times compared to AMS measurements; 2) Both the reaction yield and the amount of contamination can be determined from a single test sample.The first applications of isotopically enriched 13C and the RGA have revealed that our prototype setup has room for improvements via better hardware; however, significant improvements of our sample processing procedures were achieved, eventually arriving at an overall contamination level of 0.12 to 0.15 μg C during sample preparation (i.e. freeze-drying, combustion, and graphitization) of μg-sized samples in aqueous solution, with above 50% yield.
Radiocarbon Calibration and Application to Geophysics, Solar Physics, and Astrophysics
Authors: Damon Paul E , Peristykh Alexei N 
Published: July 2016

This paper includes a brief history of the calibration of the radiocarbon time scale from the first recognition of the necessity of calibration in 1962 to INTCAL98. Thirty-six years of effort by dendrochronologists and the 14C community have pushed the tree-ring calibration back to 11,854 yr BP. All of this part of the calibration has been done by high-precision beta counting. Uranium-thorium (U-Th) dating of coral samples coupled with accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) measurement of 14C has extended a fairly detailed calibration back beyond the Bølling warm episode to 15,000 BP. Earlier than 15,000 BP, piecewise linear approximation extends INTCAL98 calibration to 24,200 BP.Blending 1-, 2-, 3-, 10-, and 20-yr tree-ring samples containing regional and data offsets into a decadal time scale does not make an ideal error and bias free δ14C record. Nevertheless, spectral analysis reveals some statistically significant fundamental frequencies as well as interesting “beat” frequencies and the second harmonic of the around 208-yr cycle that is considered to be solar in origin. Although, some very prominent peaks such as the 88-yr (Gleissberg) are clearly solar in origin, some of the lower frequencies such as of the 512-yr period may have an origin in thermohaline circulation. Thus, INTCAL98 provides useful data for geophysical and solar physics research. Lastly, single year δ14C analysis would be useful for revealing invaluable information for solar physics, astrophysics and geophysics not accessible by decadal data. We provide several examples.