10Be (T1/2 = 1.5·106y) is mainly produced in the atmosphere by cosmic ray spallation reactions on nitrogen and oxygen. About 70 % of the production takes place in the stratosphere. 10Be becomes attached to aerosols within a very short time. If 10Be is produced in the stratosphere some latitudinal mixing occurs. Most of the 10Be is transferred to the troposphere during spring and early summer when, mainly at median latitudes, large stratospheric air masses enter the troposphere. Tropospheric 10Be is deposited rapidly on the earth's surface by precipitation. The mean residence time of 10Be in the atmosphere is ca 1 to 2 years. 10Be removed from the atmosphere by precipitation is either preserved in snow and ice layers, in the topsoil and the biosphere, or it enters the hydrosphere (oceans and lakes), where it is transported to the sediments.

14C dating results derived from an absolutely-dated 471-year tree-ring sequence from central European oak show a trend towards somewhat older dates than those for bristleconepine tree rings of the same age, but similar to those for Egyptian historical samples. Differences visible between these trend lines are not relevant considering the standard errors proposed by Clark (1975).

Dendrochronological studies of bristlecone pine, Pinus longaeva, have produced a continuous tree-ring sequence back to 6700 BC for the White Mountains of California and to 3258 BC for east-central Nevada.

Increasing concern with nuclear waste isolation technology is leading to additional studies of naturally occurring isotopes in ground water. Such studies provide information on 1) the use of radionuclides to estimate ground-water travel times and/or residence times. This information can he an extremely useful adjunct to conventional hydrologic data in developing the understanding of regional hydrology needed in the site selection process, and 2) the use of natural radionuclides as analogues to the behavior of radionuclides of concern in nuclear waste.

Soil gas samples were obtained from the unsaturated zone at eight sites in the Great Plains. Three of these sites were sampled extensively for gas composition and carbon isotopes. Sampling equipment consisted of a nest of gas probes vertically spaced by roughly 3m at most sites, generally approaching the water table. Water wells, 10cm in diameter, were screened in the topmost layer groundwater. Inverted cattle tanks were used to collect CO2 samples from the soil surface. The major gas components were analyzed with emphasis on CO2, δ 13C, and 14C measurements. The same components were studied in groundwater samples. Higher than atmospheric CO2 concentrations were found in all soil samples. Root respiration and oxidation of organic matter were sources for the additional CO2. When lignite was present in the unsaturated zone, gaseous oxygen reacted almost completely, and CO2 levels rose to 19%. Near the surface, annual cycles in total CO2, δ 13C, and 14C were observed. 14C activities were close to present post-bomb levels at the surface and generally declined with depth. At some sites, oxidation of lignite caused decline of 14C levels to 1 or 2% of their surface value at 8m depth. Without lignite, the 14C activity remained above 50% at all depths. Concentrations of total carbon and its isotopes in ground water remained very stable throughout the study. This implies that geochemical processes in the aquifer vary on time scales longer than the seasonal effects observed in the near-surface unsaturated zone.

Data on the depth distribution of the major atmospheric gases and the abundance of gaseous 12CO2, 13CO2, and 14CO2 in the subsoil unsaturated zone have been obtained from several sites in the western Great Plains of the United States. Sample profiles range from land surface to depths of 50m. Although each site must be considered on an individual basis, several general statements can be made regarding the profiles. 1) Diffusion of these gaseous molecules through the unsaturated zone is an important transport mechanism. 2) As predicted by diffusion theory, depth profiles of the various isotopic species of CO2 differ substantially from one another, depending on individual sources and sinks such as root respiration and oxidation of organic carbon at depth. 3) In general, post-bomb (> 100% modern) 14C activities are not observed in the deep unsaturated zone, in contrast to diffusion model predictions. 4) In spite of generally decreasing 14C activities with depth, absolute partial pressures of 14CO2 in the subsoil unsaturated zone are 1–2 orders of magnitude higher than the partial pressure of 14CO2 in the atmosphere.

Previously described models and a new model were compared to determine the initial 14C content of groundwater in a partially-confined and unconfined sandstone aquifer (Fränkisches Albvorland, Germany). Isotope and chemical data were derived from samples of water, soil-CO2, and solid carbonates. The various 14C models lead to important differences in resulting groundwater ages.

From the relationship between 14C and 2H or 18O concentrations of groundwater, it must be assumed that chemical and/or physical carbon isotope exchange between the DIC and the solid carbonate has occurred provided the groundwater with lower 18O and 2H concentrations was generated during the Pleistocene. Groundwater ages deduced from 14C and 39Ar concentrations showed discrepancies which can be explained if carbon isotope exchange between DIC and solid carbonate as well as mixing of recent and fossil waters is considered.

The Meade thrust, in southeastern Idaho, is a major element of the Western Overthrust Belt. The allochthon is of geo-economic importance both as a potential hydrothermal area and as the principal mining area within the Western Phosphate Field. To assist in the development of these two resources, an understanding of the regional ground-water circulation was sought. Geologic and hydrologic data from boreholes in this area are virtually nonexistent. Waterwell development in the area has not occurred because of the abundance of springs and only a few hydrocarbon exploration boreholes have been drilled. Thus, the problem lends itself to evaluation by isotope hydrologic and geochemical methods. Ten springs from within the thrust block and around its periphery were sampled for major ions, 2H/18O, and 14C/13C analysis. Data from these analyses and from field geologic evidence have identified two distinct flow regimes within the Meade thrust allochthon. Shallow flow systems lie above the impermeable Phosphoria Formation, usually within a few hundred meters of the surface. Most of the spring waters from this system are recent and cool. In all cases, they have mean subsurface residence times of less than a few hundred years. The deeper flow systems which lie below the Phosphoria formation are hydraulically isolated from the shallow system. Warm waters from these springs have 14C contents suggesting mean ground-water residence times on the order of 15,000 years. Although these waters could have circulated to as deep as 1900m, 2H/18O results show that high temperatures were never reached. There is no evidence to suggest that water from beneath the Meade thrust has contributed to the circulation in the allochthon.

The Xi-Sha Islands comprise 35 coral reefs, cays, and islets lying to the northwest of the South China Sea. Since Miocene time, > 1200m of bioherms developed on slowly subsiding granite-gneiss bed rock. These sediments provide evidence for sea-level changes and crustal movements in the South China Sea.

From 1966 to 1979, the University of Missouri, the University of Arizona, and the Illinois State Museum conducted extensive interdisciplinary investigations of Late Pleistocene peat deposits associated with springs, some extinct, in the Pomme de Terre River Valley of the Ozark Highland, Missouri (fig 1). Most of the sites are now beneath the waters of the Harry S Truman reservoir. Archaeologic investigations in the area produced a remarkably long sequence of cultural change and development during the Holocene but produced no evidence of human presence in the area prior to 11,000 years ago despite diligent excavation of favorable bone-bearing deposits.

The Landnám of Iceland is usually dated too early by the 14C dating method, at least to judge from the tradition according to the Landnámabók. Various sources of error are considered. One, the use of driftwood, can be excluded in many cases, since birch is often selected for dating purposes. Second, the settlers may have brought wood with them. A third obvious source of uncertainty is the age of a tree before felling. It is difficult to explain the seemingly too early results by secular global variations of 14C content. A regional low level of 14C may result from volcanic activity or the small size of the land areas in the Arctic region.

Our studies on 14C chronology and palynology of Holocene sediments in southern Fujian along the western coast of the Taiwan Straits show that the natural environment has undergone three stages of development during the Holocene. From Early Holocene (ca 10,000–8000 yr ago) to Middle Holocene (8000–2500 yr ago) and then to Late Holocene (2500 yr ago), sediments varied from land-sea transitional to marine and then to terrigenous; vegetation altered from mixed forest to evergreen broad-leaf forest and then steppe; climate fluctuated from temperate to hot and then to warm. The sea-level maximum in the post-glacial period occurred at 5000–6000 yr ago, at 5 to 10m elevation. During the subsequent regression, two stable stages of sea-level dated at >3000 and ca 2000 yr ago. The climatic drying and eolian sand deposit began at 700 yr ago. The results agree with our previous studies in southern Liaoning.

A test for the reliability of 14C dating of soil was made at two sites with buried, autochthonous, and in parts, allochthonous sandy podzols, dated either litho- and pedostratigraphically or palynologically. The differences between the age ranges obtained and the apparent mean residence times (AMRT) calculated from the 14C content of alkaline extracts from fossil soil layers and horizons lean in organic matter exceed 10,000 years, corresponding to a maximum contamination with recent carbon of up to 50 %. The use of correction factors for the apparent mean residence times of podzols is not valid, not even for climate zones, because these values have a broad scatter for the same profile.

14C activities of decadal samples from beech trees growing under extreme calcareous conditions were compared to 14C activities of decadal samples of the same age from a beech tree growing in a normal mold soil in order to see whether part of the carbon assimilated during photosynthesis might originate from 14C-deficient carbonates in the soil. The calcareous soils contained from 18 to 52% calcium carbonate, and this carbonate had a mean 14C age of 10,200 to 17,600 years BP. A comparison was also made with the 14C activity of contemporaneous samples from Douglas Fir from the US North Pacific (Stuiver, 1982).

No significant depletion in 14C activity in beech trees growing in the highly calcareous soils was detected. The measured mean difference in 14C activity in beech trees from calcareous and non-calcareous sites corresponds to an uptake of 0.12 ± 0.3% carbon from soil carbonates in the calcareous sites.

Calcareous deposits known as tufa or travertine contain biogenic carbon and are a potential source of geochronologic information. Many dated samples from Karstic regions in Yugoslavia proved that 14C analyses of tufa can provide reliable data reflecting climatic conditions in the past. Systematic dating of tufa samples revealed two distinct groups of deposits: recent tufa deposits, with a sharp age limit of ∼6000 ± 500 years BP, and old tufa deposits with 14C age ranges from 25,000 ± 2300 years BP to the lowest limit of our 14C dating system (∼37,000 years). A histogram based on the initial activity AO = 0.85 shows the age distribution of randomly sampled tufas vs sample frequency. A time gap between ∼6000 BP and ∼23,000 BP is evident, reflecting cooler climatic conditions. The start of peat deposition is coincident with that of tufa growth in the Holocene.

Paleoclimatic implications of tufa growth periods obtained by 14C dating are as follows: climatic conditions that favor tufa formation at least in karstic regions, are very stringent. Therefore, climatic conditions, such as mean annual temperature and humidity, as well as hydrologic and vegetational conditions, must have been very similar in periods of tufa growth. While recent tufa deposits are coincident with the warm Holocene period, old tufa can be associated with warm interstadials in the Würm.

The effects of environmental factors such as water stress, elevated CO2, or temperature on carbon assimilation and allocation in plants have been studied extensively (Gifford and Evans, 1981; Loomis, Rabbinge, and Ng, 1979; Neales and Incoll, 1968). However, the interactions of these processes are not well understood and cannot be predicted with any degree of confidence. Continuous and simultaneous measurements of photosynthesis, transport, and sink activity have never been made during the short- and long-term responses of live, intact plants to step changes in environmental factors. Thus, direct environmental effects and adaptive responses of plants are generally not distinguished. This results in part from limitation in experimental techniques and protocol used in past studies and the lack of experimental validation of hypotheses and models (eg, Goeschl et al, 1976; Magnuson et al, 1979; Smith et al, 1970) dealing with these problems. This paper describes in detail the components of an integrated technique for studying carbon assimilation, transportation and allocation in intact live plants under any set of environmental conditions, using continuously produced 11CO2.

The real-time measurement of net photosynthesis and dark respiration of plants has been possible since the development of the infra-red analyzer and its application in the 1940's. This technique has allowed intensive investigations of the mechanisms and dynamics of carbon dioxide assimilation by green plants (Sestak, Catsky, and Jarvis, 1971). As a result, physiologic and ecologic aspects of net carbon dioxide exchange are the subject of much research (eg, Osmond, Bjorkman and Anderson, 1980).