Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rcrh6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-30T10:33:24.606Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

14C Dating of Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) in Loess-Paleosol Using Sequential Pyrolysis and Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 February 2016

Peng Cheng ,
Weijian Zhou ,
Hong Wang ,
Xuefeng Lu  and
Hua Du
Peng Cheng*
Affiliation:
State Key Lab Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an 710075, China Shaanxi Province Key Laboratory of Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Technology and Application, Institute of Earth Environment, CAS, Xi'an 710043, China
Weijian Zhou
Affiliation:
State Key Lab Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an 710075, China Shaanxi Province Key Laboratory of Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Technology and Application, Institute of Earth Environment, CAS, Xi'an 710043, China Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China
Hong Wang
Affiliation:
Illinois State Geological Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois, Champaign, Illinois 61820, USA
Xuefeng Lu
Affiliation:
State Key Lab Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an 710075, China Shaanxi Province Key Laboratory of Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Technology and Application, Institute of Earth Environment, CAS, Xi'an 710043, China Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China
Hua Du
Affiliation:
State Key Lab Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an 710075, China Shaanxi Province Key Laboratory of Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Technology and Application, Institute of Earth Environment, CAS, Xi'an 710043, China
*
3Corresponding author. Email: chp@ieecas.cn.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The chemical extraction of soil organic carbon (SOC) fractions from soils often does not produce satisfactory results for radiocarbon dating. In this study, a sequential pyrolysis technique was investigated. The soil was pyrolyzed at temperatures of 200, 400, 600, and 800 °C to partition organic carbon into pyrolytic volatile (Py-V) and pyrolytic residue (Py-R) fractions. The preliminary results show that the 14C dates of both fractions become progressively older as the pyrolysis temperature is increased. In addition, the ages of the Py-V fractions are consistently younger than the corresponding Py-R fractions extracted at the same temperature. Experimental results of known-age paleosol samples indicate that the Py-V fractions obtained between 600 and 800 °C yield the most reliable ages. This technique provides a new approach to improve the accuracy of 14C dating of loess-paleosol sequences.

Type
Articles
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 55 , Issue 2: Proceedings of the 21st International Radiocarbon Conference (Part 1 of 2) , 2013 , pp. 563 - 570
Copyright
Copyright © 2013 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abbott, MB, Stafford, TW Jr. 1996. Radiocarbon geochemistry of modern and ancient Arctic lake systems, Baffin island, Canada. Quaternary Research 45(3):300–11.Google Scholar
Becker-Heidmann, P, Liu, L-W, Scharpenseel, H-W. 1988. Radiocarbon dating of organic matter fractions of a Chinese Mollisol. Zeitschrift für Pflanzenernährung und Bodenkunde 151(1):37–9.Google Scholar
Gilet-Blein, N, Marien, G, Evin, J. 1980. Unreliability of 14C dates from organic matter of soils. Radiocarbon 22(3):919–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Head, MJ, Zhou, WJ, Zhou, MF. 1989. Evaluation of 14C ages of organic fractions of paleosols from loess-paleosol sequences near Xian, China. Radiocarbon 31(3):680–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huang, YS, Li, BC, Bryant, C, Bol, R, Eglinton, G. 1999. Radiocarbon dating of aliphatic hydrocarbons: a new approach for dating passive fraction carbon in soil horizons. Soil Science Society of America Journal 63:1181–7.Google Scholar
Huanxian Quanhucun. 2003. Archaeological Excavations at the Yellow River Reservoirs Report No. 6. Beijing: Science Press. p 79–95. In Chinese.Google Scholar
Jull, AJT. 2007. Radiocarbon dating: AMS method. In: Elias, SA, editor. Encyclopedia of Quaternary Science. Amsterdam: Elsevier. p 2911–8.Google Scholar
Liu, TS, editor. 1985. Loess and the Environment. Beijing: Ocean Press. 86 p.Google Scholar
Lu, XQ, Hanna, JV, Johnson, WD. 2000. Source indicators of humic substances: an elemental composition, solid state 13C CP/MAS NMR and Py-GC/MS study. Applied Geochemistry 15(7):1019–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martin, CW, Johnson, WC. 1995. Variation in radiocarbon ages of soil organic matter fractions from late Quaternary buried soils. Quaternary Research 43(2):232–7.Google Scholar
McGeehin, J, Burr, GS, Jull, AJT, Reines, D, Gosse, J, Davis, PT, Muhs, D, Southon, JR. 2001. Stepped-combustion 14C dating of sediment: a comparison with established techniques. Radiocarbon 43(2A):255–61.Google Scholar
Muhs, DR, Aleinikoff, JH, Stafford, TW Jr, Kihl, R, Been, J, Mahan, SA, Cowherd, S. 1999. Late Quaternary loess in northeastern Colorado: part I—age and paleoclimatic significance. Geological Society of America Bulletin 111(12):1861–75.Google Scholar
Paul, EA, Follett, RF, Leavitt, SW, Halvorson, A, Peterson, GA, Lyon, DJ. 1997. Radiocarbon dating for determination of soil organic matter pool sizes and dynamics. Soil Science Society of America Journal 61:1058–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Perrin, RMS, Willis, EH, Hodge, CAH. 1964. Dating of humus podzols by residual radiocarbon activity. Nature 202(4928):165–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosenheim, BE, Day, MB, Domack, E, Schrum, H, Benthien, A, Hayes, JM. 2008. Antarctic sediment chronology by programmed-temperature pyrolysis: methodology and data treatment. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 9: Q04005, doi: 10.1029/2007GC001816.Google Scholar
Scharpenseel, HW, Schiffmann, H. 1977. Soil radiocarbon analysis and soil dating. Surveys in Geophysics 3(2):143–56.Google Scholar
Slota, PJ Jr, Jull, AJT, Linick, TW, Toolin, LJ. 1987. Preparation of small samples for 14C accelerator targets by catalytic reduction of CO2 . Radiocarbon 29(2):303–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, H, Hackley, KC, Panno, SV, Coleman, DD, Liu, Jack Chao-li, Brown, J. 2003. Pyrolysis-combustion14C dating of soil organic matter. Quaternary Research 60(3):348–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Xia-Shang-Zhou Dating Project Group. 2000. Report of Xia-Shang-Zhou Dating Project, 1996–2000. Beijing: Shijie Tushu Publishing. p 11–23. In Chinese.Google Scholar
Zhou, WJ, Zhou, MF, Head, MJ. 1990. 14C chronology of Bei Zhuang Cun sedimentation sequence since 30,000 years BP. Chinese Science Bulletin 35(7):567–72.Google Scholar
Zhou, WJ, An, ZS, Lin, BH, Xiao, JL, Zhang, JZ, Xie, J, Zhou, MF, Porter, SC, Head, MJ, Donahue, DJ. 1992. Chronology of the Baxie loess profile and the history of monsoon climates in China between 17,000 and 6000 years BP. Radiocarbon 34(3):818–25.Google Scholar
Zhou, WJ, Zhao, X, Lu, X, Liu, L, Wu, Z, Cheng, P, Zhao, W, Huang, C. 2006. The 3MV multi-element AMS in Xian, China: unique features and preliminary tests. Radiocarbon 48(2):285–93.Google Scholar
Zhou, WJ, Lu, X, Wu, Z, Zhao, W, Huang, C, Li, L, Cheng, P, Xin, Z. 2007. New results on Xi'an-AMS and sample preparation systems at Xi'an-AMS center. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B 262(1):135–42.Google Scholar