Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rdxmf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T21:08:50.789Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Variations of Radiocarbon in Tree Rings: Southern Hemisphere Offset Preliminary Results

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

F. G. McCormac
Affiliation:
The Queen's University of Belfast, School of Geosciences, Belfast, BT7 1NN, Northern Ireland
A. G. Hogg
Affiliation:
Radiocarbon Dating Laboratory, University of Waikato, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton, New Zealand
T. F. G. Higham
Affiliation:
Radiocarbon Dating Laboratory, University of Waikato, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton, New Zealand
M. G. L. Baillie
Affiliation:
The Queen's University of Belfast, School of Geosciences, Belfast, BT7 1NN, Northern Ireland
J. G. Palmer
Affiliation:
Plant Sciences Department, Lincoln University, Lincoln, New Zealand
Limin Xiong
Affiliation:
Plant Sciences Department, Lincoln University, Lincoln, New Zealand
J. R. Pilcher
Affiliation:
The Queen's University of Belfast, School of Geosciences, Belfast, BT7 1NN, Northern Ireland
David Brown
Affiliation:
The Queen's University of Belfast, School of Geosciences, Belfast, BT7 1NN, Northern Ireland
S. T. Hoper
Affiliation:
The Queen's University of Belfast, School of Geosciences, Belfast, BT7 1NN, Northern Ireland
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The Queen's University of Belfast, Northern Ireland and University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand radiocarbon laboratories have undertaken a series of high-precision measurements on decadal samples of dendrochronologically dated oak (Quercus patrea) and cedar (Libocedrus bidwillii) from Great Britain and New Zealand, respectively. The results show a real atmospheric offset of 3.4 ± 0.6% (27.2 ± 4.7 14C yr) between the two locations for the interval ad 1725 to ad 1885, with the Southern Hemisphere being depleted in l4C. This result is less than the value currently used to correct Southern Hemisphere calibrations, possibly indicating a gradient in Δ14C within the Southern Hemisphere.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © The American Journal of Science 

References

Baillie, M. G. L. 1995 A Slice Through Time: Dendrochronology and Precision Dating. London, Routledge: 176 p.Google Scholar
Barbetti, M., Bird, T., Dolezal, G., Taylor, G., Francey, R., Cook, E. and Peterson, M. 1992 Radiocarbon variations from Tasmanian conifers: First results from late Pleistocene and Holocene logs. In Long, A. and Kra, R. S., eds., Proceedings of the 14th International 14C Conference. Radiocarbon 34(3): 806817.Google Scholar
Barbetti, M., Bird, T., Dolezal, G., Taylor, G., Francey, R., Cook, E. and Peterson, M. 1995 Radiocarbon variations from Tasmanian conifers: Results from three Holocene logs. In Cook, G. T., Harkness, D. D., Miller, B. F. and Scott, E. M., eds., Proceedings of the 15th International 14C Conference. Radiocarbon 37(2): 361369.Google Scholar
Damon, P. E. 1995a A note concerning “Location-dependent differences in the 14C content of wood” by McCormac et al . In Cook, G. T., Harkness, D. D., Miller, B. F. and Scott, E. M., eds., Proceedings of the 15th International 14C Conference. Radiocarbon 37(2): 829830.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Damon, P.E. 1995b Note concerning “Intercomparison of high-precision 14C measurements at the University of Arizona and the Queen's University of Belfast Radiocarbon Laboratories” by Kalin, et al. (1995) and the regional effect. Radiocarbon 37(3): 955959.Google Scholar
Damon, P. E., Burr, G., Cain, W. J. and Donahue, D. J. 1992 Anomalous 11-year Δ14C cycle at high latitudes. Radiocarbon 34(2): 235238.Google Scholar
Damon, P. E., Cheng, S. and Linick, T. W. 1989. Fine and hyperfine structure in the spectrum of secular variations of atmospheric 14C. In Long, A., Kra, R. S. and Srdoč, D., eds., Proceedings of the 13th International 14C Conference. Radiocarbon 31(3): 955959.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hoper, S. T., McCormac, F. G., Hogg, A. G., Higham, T. F. G. and Head, J. 1998 Evaluation of wood pretreatments on oak and cedar. In Mook, W. G. and van der Plicht, J., eds., Proceedings of the 16th International 14C Conference. Radiocarbon 40(1): 4550.Google Scholar
Kromer, B., Ambers, J., Baillie, M. G. L., Damon, P. E., Hesshaimer, V., Hofmann, J., Jöris, O., Levin, I., Manning, S. W., McCormac, F. G., van der Plicht, J., Spurk, M., Stuiver, M. and Weninger, B. 1996 Report: Summary of the workshop “Aspects of High-Precision Radiocarbon Calibration”. Radiocarbon 38(3): 607610.Google Scholar
Lerman, J. C., Mook, W. G. and Vogel, J. C. 1970 14C in tree-rings from different localities. In Olsson, I. U., ed., Radiocarbon Variations and Absolute Chronology: Proceedings of the Twelfth Nobel Symposium Held at the Institute of Physics at Uppsala University. Stockholm, Almquist and Wiksell: 652 p.Google Scholar
Linick, T. W., Long, A., Damon, P. E. and Ferguson, C. W. 1986 High-precision radiocarbon dating of bristlecone pine from 6554 to 5350 BC. In Stuiver, M. and Kra, R., eds., Calibration Issue. Radiocarbon 28(2B): 943–953.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Long, A. 1995 From the editor [NIST Standard nomenclature]. Radiocarbon 37(1): iii–iv.Google Scholar
Mann, W. B. 1983 An international reference material for radiocarbon dating. In Stuiver, M. and Kra, R.S., eds., Proceedings of the 11th International 14C Conference. Radiocarbon 25(2): 519527.Google Scholar
McCormac, F. G. 1992 Liquid scintillation counter characterization, optimization and benzene purity correction. Radiocarbon 34(1): 3745.Google Scholar
McCormac, F. G., Baillie, M. G. L., Pilcher, J. R. and Kalin, R. M. 1995 Location-dependent differences in the 14C content of wood. In Cook, G. T., Harkness, D. D., Miller, B. F. and Scott, E. M., eds., Proceedings of the 15th International 14C Conference. Radiocarbon 37(2): 395407.Google Scholar
McCormac, F. G., Hogg, A. G., Higham, T. F. G., Lynch-Stieglitz, J., Broecker, W. S., Baillie, M. G. L., Palmer, J., Xiong, L., Pilcher, J. R., Brown, D. and Hoper, S.T. 1998 Temporal variation in the interhemispheric 14C offset. Geophysical Research Letters 25: 13211324.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Olsson, I. U. 1979 The importance of the pretreatment of wood and charcoal samples. In Berger, R. and Suess, H. E., eds., Radiocarbon Dating. Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference, Los Angeles and La Jolla, 1976. Los Angeles, University of California Press: 135146.Google Scholar
Pearson, G. W. and Stuiver, M. 1986 High-precision calibration of the radiocarbon time scale, 500–2500 BC. In Stuiver, M. and Kra, R., eds., Calibration Issue. Radiocarbon 28(2B): 839–862.Google Scholar
Pearson, G. W. and Stuiver, M. 1993 High-precision bidecadal calibration of the radiocarbon time scale, 500–2500 BC. In Stuiver, M., Long, A. and Kra, R. S., eds., Calibration 1993. Radiocarbon 35(1): 2534.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pilcher, J. R., Baillie, M. G. L., Schmidt, B. and Becker, B. 1984 A 7,272-year tree-ring chronology for western Europe. Nature 312: 150152.Google Scholar
Polach, H. A., Kaihola, L., Robertson, S. and Haas, H. 1988 Small sample 14C dating by liquid scintillation spectrometry. Radiocarbon 30(2): 153155.Google Scholar
Sparks, R. J., Melhuish, W. H., McKee, J. W. A., Ogden, J., Palmer, J. G. and Molloy, B. P. J. 1995 14C calibration in the Southern Hemisphere and the date of the last Taupo eruption: Evidence from tree-ring sequences. In Cook, G. T., Harkness, D. D., Miller, B. F. and Scott, E. M., eds., Proceedings of the 15th International 14C Conference. Radiocarbon 37(2): 155163.Google Scholar
Stuiver, M. and Braziunas, T. F. 1998 Anthropogenic and solar components of hemispheric 14C. Geophysical Research Letters 25: 329332.Google Scholar
Stuiver, M., Burk, R. L. and Quay, P. D. 1984 l3C/12C ratios in tree rings and the transfer of biospheric carbon to the atmosphere. Journal of Geophysical Research 89: 11,731–11,748.Google Scholar
Stuiver, M. and Pearson, G. W. 1986 High-precision calibration of the radiocarbon time scale, 1950–500 BC. In Stuiver, M. and Kra, R., eds., Calibration Issue. Radiocarbon 28(2B): 805–838.Google Scholar
Stuiver, M. and Quay, P. D. 1981 Atmospheric 14C changes resulting from fossil fuel CO2 release and cosmic ray flux variability. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 53: 349362.Google Scholar
Tsoumis, G. 1969 Wood as raw material: Source, structure, chemical composition, growth, degradation, and identification. Oxford, Pergamon Press: 276 p.Google Scholar
Vogel, J. C., Fuls, A., Visser, E. and Becker, B. 1986 Radiocarbon fluctuations during the third millennium BC. In Stuiver, M. and Kra, R., eds., Calibration Issue. Radiocarbon 28(2B): 935–938.Google Scholar
Vogel, J. C., Fuls, A., Visser, E. and Becker, B. 1993 Pretoria calibration curve for short-lived samples, 1930–3350 BC. In Stuiver, M., Long, A. and Kra, R. S., eds., Calibration 1993. Radiocarbon 35(1): 7385.Google Scholar
Xiong, L. (ms.) 1995 A dendroclimatic study of Libocedrus bidwillii Hook F. (kaikawaka). Ph.D. thesis, Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand.Google Scholar