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Radiocarbon Dating of Travertines Precipitated from Freshwater

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

Josep Mas-Pla
Affiliation:
Servei de Datació per Triti i Carboni 14, Departament de Geologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain
Josep Trilla
Affiliation:
Servei de Datació per Triti i Carboni 14, Departament de Geologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain
Maria Lluisa Valls
Affiliation:
Servei de Datació per Triti i Carboni 14, Departament de Geologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain
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Abstract

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We have studied the isotopic composition of recently precipitated travertines to determine the initial 14C activity of ancient travertine deposits. We found that the 14C activity of recent travertines of northeastern Spain was a function of the distance from the spring, resulting in variations in the initial 14C activity of the ancient travertine formations. We calculated the ancient travertine radiocarbon ages by using the ratio between the 14C activity of recent travertines and that of present atmospheric CO2 as the initial 14C activity.

Type
II. Applied Isotope Geochemistry
Copyright
Copyright © The American Journal of Science 

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