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Comparison of Radiocarbon Ages from Different Organic Fractions in Tropical Peat Cores: Insights from Kalimantan, Indonesia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

Raphael A J Wüst ,
Geraldine E Jacobsen ,
Haitse von der Gaast  and
Andrew M Smith
Raphael A J Wüst*
Affiliation:
School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville QLD 4811, Australia
Geraldine E Jacobsen
Affiliation:
Institute for Environmental Research, ANSTO, PMB 1, Menai NSW 2234, Australia
Haitse von der Gaast
Affiliation:
Institute for Environmental Research, ANSTO, PMB 1, Menai NSW 2234, Australia
Andrew M Smith
Affiliation:
Institute for Environmental Research, ANSTO, PMB 1, Menai NSW 2234, Australia
*
Corresponding author. Email: raphael.wust@jcu.edu.au
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Abstract

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Various organic fractions of an Indonesian tropical peat deposit were dated using radiocarbon accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). Four different depth layers, deposited during the last 28,000 14C yr, were analyzed and the data compared to bulk sample analyses. The pollen extracts consistently produced the oldest dates. The bulk samples (<250 μm and <100 μm) often yielded the youngest dates. The age difference between the individual fractions depended on the layer depth and hence the true age of the sampled peats. The age discrepancy was highest (∼16,000 14C yr) in the oldest peat material. We interpret this to be a consequence of the input of organic matter over a long period of time, with peat oxidation and/or no peat accumulation during the last glacial maximum (LGM). The age discrepancies were smaller (between 10 and 900 14C yr) for the Holocene peat samples. It was concluded that the pollen extract fraction might be the most reliable fraction for dating tropical peat deposits that are covered by deeply rooting vegetation.

Type
Articles
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 50 , Issue 3 , 2008 , pp. 359 - 372
Copyright
Copyright © 2008 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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