We studied a 12.6-m-long sequence from Lake Abiyata (Central Ethiopia) to establish a reliable and accurate chronology for use in global paleoclimatic reconstructions. The 26 accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon (AMS 14C) ages, performed on carbonates and organic matter, define 2 parallel chronologies, representing the complete Holocene period. However, these chronologies show a significant discrepancy from 500 to 900 BP in depth; ages obtained on carbonates were always older than those on organic matter. The hydrogeological and geochemical behavior of the Lake Abiyata basin has shed light on this discrepancy. We found that the carbonate crystallization is due mainly to the mixing of lake waters with groundwaters from the multi-layered aquifer contained in the 600-m-thick basement of the lake. The 14C activity of total dissolved inorganic carbon (TDIC) measured by AMS from bottom and surface lake waters (111.4 and 111.8 pMC, respectively) confirms that the mixing occurs at the water-sediment interface. This evidence of groundwater participation in the carbonate crystallization calls into question the current paleoclimatic reconstructions based on inorganic carbonates in lakes. Specific attention should thus be given to the respective proportions of each end-member in the mixing for the quantitative estimation of the groundwater input. This will help to validate the paleoenvironmental reconstructions and to highlight an eventual diagenetical evolution of inorganic carbonates during burial, via the study of pore waters.

Since 1994, the Institute of Geological Sciences has undertaken an environmental monitoring program to measure radiocarbon levels in territory adjacent to active nuclear power plants (NPP). We determined 14C concentrations in natural objects from areas contiguous to Ignalina NPP as well as 14C background concentration in areas remote from the NPP. In the environs of the Ignalina station comparatively elevated levels of 14C were observed in vegetation and waters of Lake Drisvyaty. This appears to be a consequence of release of carbon radioisotope into the atmosphere and probably into waters of the lake during operation of the nuclear reactor.

Basal 14C dates from a core of the mire at Puerto del Hambre (53°36'21″S, 70°55'53″W), located within the area of glaciation in Estrecho de Magallanes–Bahía Inútil, Chile, are no older than 14,455 ± 115 yr BP. The 14C dates are on samples from which screening isolated autochthonous plant remains. Previous 14C dates of 15,800 ± 200, 16,590 ± 320, and 16,290 ± 140 yr BP are from bulk samples collected from similar basal increments at the site during 3 separate, independent coring operations. The previous suite of 14C dates was suspected to be contaminated by older carbon in the light of chronological evidence, which indicates a 14C age of approximately 14,850 yr BP for glaciation elsewhere in southern Chile. Contamination by “infinitely old” carbon reworked from nearby Tertiary beds and redeposited at Puerto del Hambre is evidently the cause for the older 14C dates.

This paper summarizes radiocarbon measurements of mainly botanical samples from the Iceman (“Ötzi”) and from his discovery site, an Alpine glacier at the Austrian-Italian border. The results were obtained by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) at 3 different laboratories (Vienna, Austria; Uppsala, Sweden; Gif-sur-Yvette, France) between 1992 and 1997. All the dates, except 2, are consistent with the time period 3360–3100 BC, as previously determined from bone and tissue samples from the Iceman himself. The 2 exceptional dates from wooden artifacts suggest that the site of the Iceman was used as a mountain pass for millennia prior to and after the lifetime of “Ötzi”.

For a 2nd sample complex, we studied logs from the beginning of salt mining in the world's oldest salt mines at Hallstatt in Upper Austria. 14C AMS measurements were performed in Vienna on spruce samples found in the prehistoric mines and from a log-house on the surface. Data evaluation included “wiggle matching” of different sets of tree rings. The results suggest that salt mining in the Hallstatt region took place in the 14th–13th century BC, well before the so-called Hallstatt period.

We discuss in some detail the chemical pretreatment of the samples and the data evaluation. We also present a comprehensive survey of 14C dates available in the literature concerning both botanical remains from the vicinity of the Iceman and from the earliest salt mining in Hallstatt.

We describe a comprehensive study of carbon isotopes in several karst springs and their environs in a contemporary karst environment in the region of the Cracow-Wieluñ Upland and Western Tatra Mountains, Southern Poland. We collected samples of water, plants and carbonate deposited on aquatic plants, and obtained 13C values and 14C concentrations. We also investigated a group of the youngest calcium carbonates from caves where deposition is still being observed or ceased no more than a few hundred years ago. The determination of a 14C dilution factor (q) in these carbonates allows us to determine the “true” radiocarbon ages of old speleothems from caves in the area under investigation and enables the use of old speleothems as suitable material for extending the 14C calibration time scale, the “Absolute” age having been determined by U/Th or amino acid racemization (AAR) dating methods. Measurements of δ13C and 14C concentrations were made on dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) extracted from water samples. Calculated values of q range from 0.55 to 0.68 and δ13C values range from −10% to −13% versus VPDB with mean values equal to 0.65 and −12%, respectively. Results indicate that the dissolution process of limestone bedrock is a closed system with the dominating contributor being biogenic carbon dioxide.

Isotopic composition of carbon in contemporary plants collected at the karstic springs at 3 localities is highly diverse, with different species distinctly varying in both q and δ13C values. Extremely light values of 13C (under −40%), observed in Algae and Hyloconium splendens, are correlated with 14C concentrations that are much lower than 100 pMC. Small systematic changes of isotopic composition were found in plants of the same species collected along streams at various distances from the spring. The youngest calcium carbonates from different caves show a relatively high scatter of both δ13C values and 14C concentration. The lower reservoir effect for 14C is observed in samples with higher value of δ13C, indicating equilibrium conditions in the sedimentation of carbonate. Pazdur et al. (1995b) presented 14C dating results and paleoclimatic interpretation of 170 14C analyses of 89 speleothems from 41 caves obtained through 1994. Investigations continued until early 1997, during which time a speleothem, JWi2, was dated by 14C, U/Th and AAR dating methods, and its stable isotope composition (δ13C and δ18O) analyzed in detail (reported here). Carbon isotope analyses indicate very large differences among results obtained by U/Th, AAR, and 14C dating methods.

The spatial and temporal distribution of 145 radiocarbon dates on 66 Australian stick-nest rat middens (Muridae: Leporillus spp.) range from modern to 10,900 ± 90 BP. As in American packrat middens, age frequency follows a logarithmic decay, both continentally and at major sites. This is probably a result of natural decay processes. Unlike American middens of similar age, relatively few range changes in plant distribution have been detected in Australia. The distribution of 14C ages and the associated midden materials provide important paleoenvironmental information from the arid interior of Australia. The middens record subtle changes in vegetation and dramatic changes in the fauna unlike those interpreted from sites on the coastal rim or the southeastern periphery of the arid zone.

A first-order ΔR correction value for marine samples is presented based on 3 radiocarbon determinations of known-age marine shells from Samoa.

A method is presented for calibrating radiocarbon ages based on statistical analysis of a large number of randomly distributed dates. One interesting feature of this method is that it is internal; that is, it allows one to extend a known calibration curve further back in time by using only 14C dates, with no reference to any other dating technique. A serious difficulty in implementing this method lies in assembling a sample of dates with the correct statistical properties.

A recent publication on directly dated basketry specimens from the western United States (Berger et al. 1998, Radiocarbon 40(2):615–20) contained some misleading information, and in a few cases discussed radiocarbon ages from unacknowledged sources. We provide the missing original citations along with some clarifications. We focus especially on the age of distinctive Fort Rock and Multiple Warp–style sandals, for which we provide additional previously unreported 14C ages. Direct dates on fibers from Fort Rock sandals from 3 different sites range in age from 10,500 cal BP to about 9200 cal BP. Contextual evidence suggests that Multiple Warp sandals may date as early as 6600 cal BP, but the few directly dated specimens are less than 1000 yr old.

We describe a new methodology for separating organic temper from archaeological ceramics from Brazilian Amazonia. These experimental procedures were designed to directly date ceramic samples by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). An evaluation of the total carbon indicates the samples’ potential for dating.

Since 1996, the Mongolian-American Expedition to Northern Mongolia has been excavating in the Egiin Gol Valley. The goal of this research has been to examine the competing hypotheses explaining the emergence of pastoral nomadism and the evolution of nomadic complexity. The chronological placement of burials and sites in the survey area has been a key facet of this research. At present, these investigations have generated 10 radiocarbon dates from archaeological contexts. Presented here are the previoulsy unpublished 14C dates and some comments on their significance.