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A Bayesian Approach to the Use of 14C Dates in the Estimation of the Age of Peat

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

J. A. Christen ,
R. S. Clymo  and
C. D. Litton
J. A. Christen
Affiliation:
Institute de Matemáticas, Unidad Morelia, UNAM Nicolás Romero 150, Centro 58000 Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico
R. S. Clymo
Affiliation:
School of Biological Sciences, Queen Mary and Westfield College, London, E1 4NS, England
C. D. Litton
Affiliation:
Department of Mathematics, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, England
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Abstract

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Peatlands occupy a significant portion of the land surface of the Earth and form a large carbon store. Most peat-forming systems have two layers. The upper layer, the acrotelm, fixes carbon by photosynthesis, loses some of it by decay and passes the remainder on to the lower layer, the catotelm. In the catotelm, decay continues at a slower rate. Mathematical models of the growth of the catotelm have been proposed which relate the cumulative mass of peat above a particular depth to calendar age of the peat at that depth. We demonstrate how 14C dating and the Bayesian approach to data analysis can be used to make inferences about the relation between calendar age and cumulative mass, and to estimate the accumulation and decay rates.

Type
III. Calibration of the 14C Time Scale
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 37 , Issue 2 , 1995 , pp. 431 - 441
Copyright
Copyright © the Department of Geosciences, The University of Arizona 

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