AMS C14 dating using pollen concentrate for sediments with low organic content in the tropics of Australia
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Date
2007-07
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Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Elsevier
Abstract
This study discusses the results of using pollen concentrate for AMS C14 dating of sediments with low organic content for two sites in the tropical north of Australia. The first site from the Mitchell Plateau in the Kimberly region of Western Australia is a swamp deposit within a small enclosed drainage basin, with a high content of inorganic sediments. Seven AMS C-14 dates have been obtained for the first 70 cm of this record, which provides a relatively consistent age chronology that stretches back 1670 BP and can be directly compared with pollen data from the same depths. The second site, ODP 820, from the humid tropics region of northeastern Queensland consists of marine sediments with high values of Calcium Carbonate. Several AMS C-14 on foraminifera have been obtained for this record, which provide a consistent age chronology for the first 8 m of the core and which is thought to cover the last 44,000 BP. More recently, seven AMS C-14 dates based on pollen concentrate have been obtained and have been directly compared with the forminiferal derived ages, as well as the core’s pollen record. The dates and concurrent pollen data provide a better understanding of the sedimentological processes, both marine and terrestrial, that have been operating in the region, as well as providing insight into the nature of the reworking of pollen grains in marine sediments.
Description
Keywords
Carbon 14, Pollen, Tropical regions, Australia, Mass spectroscopy, Isotope dating
Citation
Moss, P. T., McTainsh, G. H., Dunbar, G., Dickens, G., & Jacobsen, G. (2007). AMS C14 dating using pollen concentrate for sediments with low organic content in the tropics of Australia. International Union for Quaternary Research XVII Congress (INQUA) – “The Tropics: Heat Engine of the Quaternary”, 28th July – 3rd August 2007. Cairns, Australia: Cairns Convention Centre. In Quaternary International, 167-168, 290. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2007.04.001