The following samples were excavated in July 1985 in an upland (elev 609.6m) prehistoric agricultural site in the Kona Field System on the west coast of Hawai'i Island.

Seasonal variations in 18O content, in acidity, and in dust content have been used to count annual layers in the Dye 3 deep ice core back to the Late Glacial. In this way the Pleistocene/Holocene boundary has been absolutely dated to 8770 BC with an estimated error limit of ± 150 years. If compared to the conventional 14C age of the same boundary a value of Δ14C = 53 ± 13‰ is obtained. This Δ14C value suggests that 14C levels during the Late Glacial were not substantially higher than during the Postglacial.

Absolute high-precision radiocarbon time-scale calibration is now available and is shown by Stuiver and Pearson (1986) and Pearson and Stuiver (1986) to be internationally valid. The technique of curve fitting presented in this paper shows how certain samples may be dated calendrically to within a very narrow band width ca ± 20 years, at time periods when single sample analysis would give ambiguous calendrical conversion. Samples of known deposition rate covering a time span of >50 years are subdivided to produce a ‘floating curve’ and this curve is then ‘wiggle matched’ with the high-precision calibration to give a precise calendrical age.

We measured the Δ14C values in 57 rings (from AD 1824 to 1880) of a white spruce grown in Mackenzie Delta (68°N, 130°W), as part of our continuing study of the Δ14C variation related to solar activities. The values exhibit a 10‰ fluctuation with an 11-year periodicity anti-correlated with the solar activity cycle. We also measured the Δ14C values in 6 rings (from AD 1940 to 1945). The abnormally high value in the 1943 ring may be due to two large solar flares occurring in 1942.

The hottest topic for those interested in the earth's carbon cycles is the change in atmospheric CO2 content between glacial and interglacial time. What caused it? What is its role in glacial cycles? We evaluate here the hypotheses that have been put forward to explain the CO2 change with evidence from deep sea sediments. We conclude that all the hypotheses have serious drawbacks and that much effort will have to be expended in gathering more data from ice cores and ocean sediments before we will be pointed toward the correct scenario. Also, thoughtful modeling aimed at depicting the ties between pCO2, O2,13C/12C, 14C/12C, and nutrient constituents in the sea for various modes of circulation will have to be done before the evidence from ocean cores can be properly interpreted.

Patterns of 14C enrichment in the superficial plant debris and mineral soil horizons of an established woodland have been monitored at regular intervals during the past 15 years. These data are compared with a model evaluation of carbon turnover based on the recorded changes in atmospheric 14C concentration since AD 1900.

Leaf litter and decomposing plant debris are characterized by steady-state turnover values of ca 2 and ca 8 years, respectively. A two-component system of ‘fast’ (≤20 yr) and ‘slow’ (ca 350 yr) cycling carbon is indicated for the surface (0–5cm) soil humus; below 10cm, the “fast’ component is rare (<5%).

Selective microbal humification of leaf litter, branch, and root debris is proposed to explain a delay of several years in the peak transfer of ‘bomb’ 14C to the soil carbon pool.

A 6-year and a 2-year record of 14C measurements of soil CO2 in two soils are presented and discussed. The annual 14C variation of soil CO2 is controlled by the seasonally varying contribution of root respiration and of microbial decomposition of organic matter producing soil CO2. The Δ14C soil CO2 difference between summer and winter is ca 50‰ in a soil where turnover of organic matter is fast (τ = 2.5a) and ca 100‰ in a soil of slow turnover (τ = 60a). A simple model describing the movement and turnover of organic matter is derived, giving the depth distributions of organic carbon and of 14C. The model needs a subdivision of the carbon reservoir into at least two reservoirs with residence times of τ1 = la and τ2 = 100a, respectively, and with a vertical transfer velocity in the order of 0.6mm/a.

The 14C content in 1961–1967 rings of each of three spruce pines grown at (68° N, 130° W), (47° 30' N, 129° 16' E) and (27° 13' N, 100° 20' E) were measured. Δ14C values of the three specimens rise dramatically from a common level (∼250‰) in 1961 to their respective maxima, 964‰, 909‰, and 743‰ in 1964 and then fall to a common level ∼680‰ in 1967. The observed Δ14C increase comes most likely from the nuclear bomb test of the USSR at 75° N in 1961, although there were many other tests since the 1950s. The different effects at different latitudes reflect the atmospheric circulation patterns in the stratosphere and the transport of 14C nuclei from the stratosphere to the troposphere.

Composite curvature averages for 14C age depth profiles of deep ocean sediment, continental sediment, and soil each indicate a global trend for 14C age increment per cm depth to increase with 14C age over the range for which a definitive statistical sample is available. The global trend indicated for peat profiles is constant 14C age increment per cm depth over the past 10,000 14C yr. Correlation coefficients between changes in 14C yr/cm and maximum profile thickness contradict compaction as an adequate explanation for the global trend indicated by sediment and soil profiles. This trend must be explained by additional factors such as progressively decreasing contamination from older carbon, increasing cosmic ray intensity, decreasing geomagnetic intensity, diminishing 12C in the active biosphere during profile accumulation, and climate factors affecting the rate of accumulation. The diverse trend of peat profiles may indicate climatic conditions more favorable to peat growth during the earlier portion of the past 10,000 yr.

Radiocarbon has been measured in two soil profiles, one of which has been covered by a building since 1956. A comparison of the Δ14C values in horizons of each profile gives an estimate of the total input of atom bomb 14C into the soil profile. From the Δ14C and carbon density profile data, the carbon input rates, respiration rates, and diffusivity are calculated. The lack of vegetation on one soil affects the mobility and the respiration rate of the soil carbon in that soil. The data from this soil profile are also used to check the assumption, used in previous analyses, that there is a uniform distribution of ‘old’ carbon down the soil profile. The input rate, turnover time, and diffusivity parameters determined from the Δ14C profiles in these soils are compared with other published data on pasture and forest soils.

The pattern of global water column inventories of bomb-produced 14C suggests that a sizeable portion of bomb 14C that entered the Antarctic, northern Pacific, and tropical oceans has been transported to adjacent temperate regions. Models of lateral transport of surface water in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans are based on this distribution pattern. Upwelling of bomb-14C-free water from below takes place in the Antarctic, northern Pacific, and tropical regions; downwelling of surface water occurs in the temperate oceans and northern Atlantic. Uptake of excess CO2 by these models is calculated using the observed Mauna Loa pCO2 record as an input function. Results indicate that 35% of fossil fuel CO2 is taken up by these model oceans during the period 1958–1980. Considering the observed airborne fraction of 0.55, it appears that ca 10% of the global fossil fuel CO2 is still missing.

An accurate atmospheric 13C/12C chronology can provide important constraints to models of the global carbon cycle. Trees accumulate carbon from atmospheric CO2 into growth rings and offer potential for 13C/12C reconstructions, but results have not been reproducible. This paper presents δ13C curves from 5 sites, representing 20 pinyon (Pinus edulis) trees, where cores of 4 trees from each site have been pooled into a composite sample. Isotopic analysis of cellulose in 5-yr ring groups produces curves with a general trend of decreasing δ13C after 1800, but with pronounced short-term fluctuations superimposed upon the trend. Evidence indicates the fluctuations are strongly related to moisture availability (drought). A mean curve of the 5 δ13C chronologies from which the fossil-fuel component is subtracted suggests a substantial biospheric CO2 contribution to the atmosphere since 1800.

The natural 14C and 13C content of soil organic matter and their dependence on depth for two Alfisols are presented. This soil type which covers a large area of the earth's surface is characterized by clay migration processes (“Lessivé”). The samples were taken as successive horizontal layers of 2cm depth from an area of ca lm2 size as deep as the C content allows 14C analysis. The minima of the D14C distribution decrease with depth, while the maxima increase in the upper, leached horizon (A1) due to bomb 14C and decrease in the lower, clay illuviated (Bt). δ13C indicates proceeding decomposition in A1 and protection of carbon, probably due to the formation of clay humus complexes in Bt. δ13C values were also used for age correction of the 14C data due to isotopic fractionation. The D14C and δ13C depth distributions are characterized by sharp peaks at the boundaries of the horizons, probably caused by the influence of textural changes on the transport of C with percolating water.

The renewal of east Atlantic deep water and its large-scale circulation and mixing have been studied in observed distributions of temperature, silicate, ΣCO2, and 14C. 14C variations in northeast Atlantic deep water below 3500m depth are small. Δ14C values range from − 100‰ to −125‰. 14C bottom water concentrations decrease from Δ14C =−117‰ in the Sierra Leone Basin to Δ14C = − 123‰ in the Iberian Basin and are consistent with a mean northward bottom water flow. The characteristic of the water that flows from the west Atlantic through the Romanche Trench into the east Atlantic was determined by inspection of θ/Δ14C and θ/SiO2 diagrams. A mean potential temperature of θ = 1.50 ± .05°C was found for the inflowing water. A multi-box model including circulation, mixing, and chemical source terms in the deep water has been formulated. Linear programing and least-squares techniques have been used to obtain the transport and source parameters of the model from the observed tracer fields. Model calculations reveal an inflow through the Romanche Trench from the west Atlantic, which predominates over any other inflow, of (5 ± 2) Sv (potential temperature 1.50°C), a convective turnover of (150 ± 50) years and a vertical apparent diffusivity of (4 ± 1) cm2/s. Chemical source terms are in the expected ranges.

Carbon isotope ratios were measured in organic and inorganic carbon of settling particulate matter collected with a sediment trap at Ocean Station “P” in the Gulf of Alaska from March to October, 1983. Dissolved inorganic carbon (DIG) in surface sea water collected during two different seasons in 1984 were analyzed using large gas proportional counters and revealed a minimum seasonal Δ14C variation of 14‰. Results show that the Δ14C of calcium carbonate scdimenting to the deep sea is the same as that measured in surface water DIC. In contrast, particulate organic carbon (POC) had significantly higher Δ14C values (by 25–70‰) than that in surface water DIC. Also, the δ13C of the POC was markedly lower than previously reported values from other trap stations and marine particulate matter in general. Results from this study suggest that a significant amount of the POC settling to the deep sea at this pelagic station is of terrestrial origin, not strictly of marine origin as had previously been believed.

Macrofossils of terrestrial plants have been picked from a sediment core taken in Lake Lobsigen, a small lake on the Western Swiss Plateau. The sediments were previously analyzed for pollen composition, plant and animal macrofossils, and stable isotopes. Plant macrofossils were selected near pollen zone boundaries in Late Glacial and early Postglacial sediment for 14C dating by AMS. In the same lake carbonate and gyttja (aquatic plant) samples were dated by decay counting. The dates on terrestrial material are generally younger than those on carbonate and gyttja, ie, material reflecting the 14C/C ratio of dissolved bicarbonate in lake water. This is probably due to a contribution of dissolved limestone carbonate and thus a somewhat reduced 14C/C ratio in the lake's water (hard water effect).