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Contemporary 14C Levels and Their Significance to Sedimentary History of Bega Swamp, New South Wales

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

Henry Polach  and
Gurdip Singh
Henry Polach
Affiliation:
Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University, Canberra
Gurdip Singh
Affiliation:
Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University, Canberra
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Abstract

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Atmospheric 14C variations in nature, as previously documented for the Southern Hemisphere by studies carried out in South Africa and New Zealand, were supplemented by 14C concentration measurements of wheat-grain samples collected in southeastern New South Wales. Our measurements cover the critical period of 1945/46 up to 1956/57, and span the transition of Suess and atom-bomb effects. The observed variations can be followed quite precisely in the peat deposits of the Bega Swamp, New South Wales, and indicate that vertical mixing of organic components within the peat is negligible. Pollen analytical data covering the last 400 years also show that the peats act as efficient traps; thus, time-precise zonations can be identified, and historically documented man-induced changes in pollen assemblages can be correlated with 14C ages in recent times.

Type
Man-Made 14C Variations
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 22 , Issue 2 , 1980 , pp. 398 - 409
Copyright
Copyright © The American Journal of Science 

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