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AMS Dating on the Shell Bar Section from Qaidam Basin, Ne Tibetan Plateau, China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

H C Zhang ,
H F Fan ,
F Q Chang ,
W X Zhang ,
G L Lei ,
M S Yang ,
Y B Lei  and
L Q Yang
H C Zhang*
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Western China's Environmental Systems, MOE; College of Earth Sciences and Environments, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China. Also: State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Nanjing 210008, China
H F Fan
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Western China's Environmental Systems, MOE; College of Earth Sciences and Environments, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China. Also: State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Nanjing 210008, China
F Q Chang
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Western China's Environmental Systems, MOE; College of Earth Sciences and Environments, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China. Also: State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Nanjing 210008, China
W X Zhang
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Western China's Environmental Systems, MOE; College of Earth Sciences and Environments, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China. Also: State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Nanjing 210008, China
G L Lei
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Western China's Environmental Systems, MOE; College of Earth Sciences and Environments, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China. Also: State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Nanjing 210008, China
M S Yang
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Western China's Environmental Systems, MOE; College of Earth Sciences and Environments, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China. Also: State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Nanjing 210008, China
Y B Lei
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Western China's Environmental Systems, MOE; College of Earth Sciences and Environments, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China. Also: State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Nanjing 210008, China
L Q Yang
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Western China's Environmental Systems, MOE; College of Earth Sciences and Environments, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China. Also: State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Nanjing 210008, China
*
Corresponding author. Email: zhanghc@niglas.ac.cn
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Abstract

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Radiocarbon dating by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) of the shell bar section of Qaidam Basin, NE Tibetan Plateau, shows that this section was formed between ~39.7 and ~17.5 14C kyr BP and represented the highest paleolake development period since the Late Pleistocene. It was difficult to obtain reliable dates due to the low organic carbon content, which was formed mainly by authochtonous algae-bacteria (Zhang et al. 2007a). In order to improve the dating, 14C ages of both the alkali residual and acid-soluble components of the organic carbon were measured to check the consistency of the dating results. Total organic carbon (TOC) content and stable carbon isotopes (δ13Corg) might also be used as critical references for checking the reliability of dates. For example, in our study of the shell bar section from Qaidam Basin, we found that when the TOC content was higher than 0.15% and/or δ13Corg was lower than −23, the AMS dates were reliable. AMS dating of fossil shells demonstrated that they could provide valuable age information. The ages given by fossil shells are comparable to those of bulk carbonate from a similar sampling site, and are about 15~18 kyr older than the ages given by organic matter. Due to the U/Th dating requirements and open nature of the system, we concluded that U/Th dating results are unreliable and that this technique is unsuitable for dating halite deposits from Qaidam Basin.

Type
Articles
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 50 , Issue 2 , 2008 , pp. 255 - 265
Copyright
Copyright © 2008 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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