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The Influence of Pretreatment on Humic Acid Yield and 14C Age of Carex Peat

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

G. T. Cook ,
A. J. Dugmore  and
J. S. Shore
G. T. Cook
Affiliation:
Scottish Universities Research and Reactor Centre, Scottish Enterprise Technology Park, East Kilbride G75 0QF, Scotland
A. J. Dugmore
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, University of Edinburgh, Drummond Street, Edinburgh EH8 9XP, Scotland
J. S. Shore
Affiliation:
Scottish Universities Research and Reactor Centre, Scottish Enterprise Technology Park, East Kilbride G75 0QF, Scotland
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Abstract

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The object of the study was to assess the effects of a range of pretreatment/extraction schemes on the yields of humic acid and humin obtained from peat and the subsequent radiocarbon ages. We analyzed peat from Flókadalur in northern Iceland, collecting material from a profile containing seven visible tephra horizons in the upper 3 m, whose form and extent indicated little disturbance to the section over the last 4000 yr. The results of a range of pretreatments demonstrated that time rather than the strength of alkali is the more important factor governing the extraction of humic acid. An increase in alkali molarity did not correspond to any systematic increase in yield, whereas an increase in time did, implying that the extraction is kinetically controlled. We found no evidence of variability in 14C age due to pretreatment scheme or between different geochemical fractions of the peat. Further implications from this study are that bog stability and ecological simplicity produce a favorable environment for 14C dating.

Type
Part 1: Methods
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 40 , Issue 1: 16th International Radiocarbon Conference 16-20,1997 Groningen , 1997 , pp. 21 - 27
Copyright
Copyright © The American Journal of Science 

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