We present ΔA14C and 39Ar data collected in the Nansen, Amundsen and Makarov basins during two expeditions to the central Arctic Ocean (RV Polarstern cruises ARK IV/3, 1987 and ARK VIII/3, 1991). The data are used, together with published Δ14C values, to describe the distribution of Δ14C in all major basins of the Arctic Ocean (Nansen, Amundsen, Makarov and Canada Basins), as well as the 39Ar distribution in the Nansen Basin and the deep waters of the Amundsen and Makarov Basins. From the combined Δ14C and 39Ar distributions, we derive information on the mean “isolation ages” of the deep and bottom waters of the Arctic Ocean. The data point toward mean ages of the bottom waters in the Eurasian Basin (Nansen and Amundsen Basins) of ca. 250-300 yr. The deep waters of the Amundsen Basin show slightly higher 3H concentrations than those in the Nansen Basin, indicating the addition of a higher fraction of water that has been at the sea surface during the past few decades. Correction for the bomb 14C added to the deep waters along with bomb 3H yields isolation ages for the bulk of the deep and bottom waters of the Amundsen Basin similar to those estimated for the Nansen Basin. This finding agrees well with the 39Ar data. Deep and bottom waters in the Canadian Basin (Makarov and Canada Basins) are very homogeneous, with an isolation age of ca. 450 yr. Δ14C and 39Ar data and a simple inverse model treating the Canadian Basin Deep Water (CBDW) as one well-mixed reservoir renewed by a mixture of Atlantic Water (29%), Eurasian Basin Deep Water (69%) and brine-enriched shelf water (2%) yield a mean residence time of CBDW of ca. 300 yr.

According to most geological and geomorphological studies, the maximal advance of the Würmian glaciers in the French Alps occurred at least before 40 ka bp and cannot be dated by 14C. Scientists believed that this dating method could be used for dating the last glacial advance and late deglaciation in the region. The scarce and scattered 14C dating results available from geological samples do not confirm an early (ca. 18 or 20 ka bp) age for the total cooling of the ice nor do they prove that residual ice sheets remained at low elevations. Attempting to solve this chronological problem, we compiled current archaeological knowledge of the oldest Late Paleolithic sites. A review of their 14C results shows that no site older than 15 ka bp (with Gravettian, Solutrean or early Magdalenian industries) can be found east of the Saône-Rhône Valley, even at low elevations. Only rare sites, dated to ca. 14.5 ka bp, may be found close to the mountain regions that were suddenly occupied around the beginning of the Bølling period (ca. 13.5 ka bp). Thus, it seems that the eastern Alps offer no evidence for direct association between glacial retreat and human settlement or simultaneous occurrence in early or late deglaciated areas.

The first results of radiocarbon dating of the ancient sites in the Russian Far East were published early in the 1960s (Okladnikov 1964). We now have enough data to establish the main features in the 14C chronology of the Stone and Bronze Age cultures in Primorye, one of the archaeologically well-studied regions of the Russian Far East.

This review of radiocarbon dates from northeastern Siberian Paleolithic sites provides data that can be applied to establishing a chronology of human settlement, and that can provide a rough estimate of the timing of the initial peopling of the New World.

We describe applications of radiocarbon dating used for establishing a chronology of archaeological sites of the Novgorod region at the end of the first millennium ad. We have 14C-dated known-age tree rings from sites in Latvia and ancient Novgorod, northwest Russia, as well as charcoal and wood from Novgorod. Calendar ages of 14C-dated tree rings span the interval, ad 765–999. We used the Groningen calibration program, CAL15 (van der Plicht 1993) to calibrate 14C ages to calendar years. Comparisons between 14C results and archaeological data show good agreement, and enable us to narrow the calendar interval of calibrated 14C determinations.

The prehistoric site Nahal Issaron is located on the alluvial fan of Nahal Issaron, a short wadi draining into Biqat Uvda some 50 km north of Eilat. Excavated in the early 1980s, it constitutes a major Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) layer, with continued but sporadic occupation throughout the Late Neolithic to the Chalcolithic period. In the PPNB layer, a dense agglomeration of rounded, polygonal and rectangular structures was found, with courtyards and a variety of features such as hearths and ovens. The upper layer is badly preserved, apart from the hearths and ovens. Thirty samples from the site were 14C-dated in the Rehovot laboratory and five in the Pretoria laboratory. The results enabled a fine temporal resolution between layers and a refinement of the 7th through 5th millennium bc chronology. The dates also placed the sequence of changes in architecture and lithics within a more robust temporal framework, thus making the site a key chronological anchor in the Neolithic of Southern Israel, Sinai and Jordan.

A new automated pretreatment system for the preparation of materials submitted for accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) analysis is less time-consuming and results in a higher sample yield. The new procedure was tested using two groups of plant fossils: one group was pretreated using the traditional method, and the second, using the automated pretreatment apparatus. We compared the time it took to complete the procedure and the amount of sample material remaining. The automated pretreatment apparatus proved to be more than three times faster and, in most cases, produced a higher yield. We also observed a darker discoloration of the KOH solutions, indicating that the automated system is more thorough in removing humates from the specimen compared to the manual method.

Many of the problems inherent with conventional 14C dating of lake and peat deposits are eliminated by AMS dating of pollen concentrates. Published work describes production of pollen concentrates through expulsion of most of the deposit matrix by repeated deflocculation, selective sieving and final retention of the largest subfossil pollen taxa. Less suited to pollen concentrate production are the highly organic peats and lake muds from the British Isles and Europe. In this study we tested the combined effectiveness of physical, chemical and microbiological degradation and elimination techniques for pollen concentrate production on highly organic peats and a lake mud. We also reviewed methods of enhancing concentrations of smaller sub-fossil pollen grains. Here we present a novel method of assessing AMS dating precision of pollen concentrates by comparing their calibrated dates with a volcanic event of known historical age.