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Development of a Robust 14C Chronology for Lynch's Crater (North Queensland, Australia) Using Different Pretreatment Strategies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

C S M Turney ,
M I Bird ,
L K Fifield ,
A P Kershaw ,
R G Cresswell ,
G M Santos ,
M L di Tada ,
P A Hausladen  and
Z Youping
C S M Turney
Affiliation:
Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, A.C.T. 0200, Australia
M I Bird
Affiliation:
Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, A.C.T. 0200, Australia
L K Fifield
Affiliation:
Department of Nuclear Physics, Research School of Physical Sciences and Engineering, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia
A P Kershaw
Affiliation:
School of Geography & Environmental Science, PO Box 11a, Monash University, Victoria 3800, Australia
R G Cresswell
Affiliation:
Department of Nuclear Physics, Research School of Physical Sciences and Engineering, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia
G M Santos
Affiliation:
Department of Nuclear Physics, Research School of Physical Sciences and Engineering, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia
M L di Tada
Affiliation:
Department of Nuclear Physics, Research School of Physical Sciences and Engineering, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia
P A Hausladen
Affiliation:
Department of Nuclear Physics, Research School of Physical Sciences and Engineering, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia
Z Youping
Affiliation:
Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, A.C.T. 0200, Australia
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Abstract

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Lynch's Crater in northeastern Australia provides a long, continuous record of environmental change within the Late Quaternary. Here, we present newly determined radiocarbon ages, using acid-base-acid stepped combustion (ABA-SC) and acid-base-wet oxidation stepped combustion (ABOX-SC) pretreatment strategies. The new results largely confirm the original untreated radiocarbon results for the uppermost 9 m of sediments, (ca. 35 ka BP). Below this depth, results from both pretreatment methods are in stratigraphic agreement and extend the dating of the record from 38 ka BP to about 48 ka BP, although an apparent increased sedimentation rate below 12 m is questionable. The scarcity of “charcoal” in several of the samples raises questions regarding the application of ABOX-SC to lake or swamp sediments, with evidence for contributions from younger, chemically resistant bacterial carbon along with fine “charcoal” in some samples. However, the extent to which this phenomenon is significant to the final age estimate appears to be sample specific, and is probably dependent upon the length of the wet oxidation step in the pretreatment.

Type
Articles
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 43 , Issue 1 , 2001 , pp. 45 - 54
Copyright
Copyright © The Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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