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Corry Bog, Pennsylvania: A Case Study of the Radiocarbon Dating of Marl

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

P.F. Karrow
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
B.G. Warner
Affiliation:
Biology Department, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia V5A 1S6, Canada
P. Fritz
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada

Abstract

New radiocarbon dates, carbon and oxygen isotope analyses of mollusks and marl, and palynologic analysis have clarified age relationships at the Corry kettle bog in northwestern Pennsylvania. A 4000-yr difference in radiocarbon dates between basal peat and marl top, previously interpreted as caused by the presence of an unconformity, is reinterpreted as due to “hard-water effects” from carbonate bedrock and glacial deposits. A radiocarbon date of 14,000 yr from basal marl, previously used as a minimum age for glacial deposition, is also likely too old; instead a similar age is estimated for the base of the underlying lake clay. Radiocarbon dates on marl should be used with caution and supported by isotopic and pollen analyses.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
University of Washington

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