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An Investigation into 14C offsets in Modern Mollusk Shell and Flesh from Irish Coasts shows no Significant differences in areas of Carbonate Geology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 October 2019

K R Allen Open the ORCID record for K R Allen [Opens in a new window] ,
P J Reimer ,
D W Beilman  and
S E Crow
K R Allen*
Affiliation:
School of Natural & Built Environment, 14CHRONO Centre for Climate, the Environment & Chronology, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
P J Reimer
Affiliation:
School of Natural & Built Environment, 14CHRONO Centre for Climate, the Environment & Chronology, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
D W Beilman
Affiliation:
School of Natural & Built Environment, 14CHRONO Centre for Climate, the Environment & Chronology, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, BT7 1NN, United Kingdom College of Social Sciences, Department of Geography, University of Hawai’i at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
S E Crow
Affiliation:
School of Natural & Built Environment, 14CHRONO Centre for Climate, the Environment & Chronology, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, BT7 1NN, United Kingdom College of Tropical Agriculture & Human Resources, University of Hawai’i at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
*
*Corresponding author. Email: k.allen@qub.ac.uk.
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Abstract

Our ability to reliably use radiocarbon (14C) dates of mollusk shells to estimate calendar ages may depend on the feeding preference and habitat of a particular species and the geology of the region. Gastropods that feed by scraping are prone to incorporation of carbon from the substrate into their shells as evidenced by studies comparing the radiocarbon dates of shells and flesh from different species on different substrates (Dye 1994; Hogg et al. 1998). Limpet shells (Patella sp.) are commonly found in prehistoric midden deposits in the British Isles and elsewhere, however these shells have largely been avoided for radiocarbon dating in regions of limestone outcrops. Results from limpets (Patella vulgata) collected alive on limestone and volcanic substrates on the coasts of Ireland indicate that the shells were formed in equilibrium with the seawater, with no significant 14C offsets. Limpets collected from the east coast of Northern Ireland have elevated 14C due to the output of Sellafield nuclear fuel reprocessing plant. In all locations, the flesh was depleted in 14C compared to the shells. The results will have an important consequence for radiocarbon dating of midden deposits as well as the bone of humans and animals who fed on the limpets.

Keywords

limestonelimpetmolluskradiocarbon
Type
Conference Paper
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 61 , Issue 6: Radiocarbon 2018 Conference Proceedings Trondheim, Norway, June 17–22, 2018 Part 2 of 2 , December 2019 , pp. 1913 - 1922
Copyright
© 2019 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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Footnotes

Selected Papers from the 23rd International Radiocarbon Conference, Trondheim, Norway, 17–22 June, 2018

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