Radiocarbon dating interest

The amount of information gathered over the decades since the radiocarbon dating method was developed is very extensive, so that even the briefest of reviews on the subject is out of the question here. The interested reader is referred, therefore, either to Radiocarbon, the periodical dedicated to the regular publication of new radiocarbon data, issued by the University of Arizona, or to one of the excellent reviews on the subject such as those by Hedges 2001 and by Lowe 1997. 

The impact of this new technique, which was called Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS), on the radiocarbon and archaeologist communities, was immediate and revolutionary. The introduction of AMS is indeed recognized by some as the third revolution in radiocarbon dating[22,23] and it has provided the opportunity to date very precious finds by collecting very small samples. The interest in developing the technique of AMS was so evident that, just few years after the measurements cited above, a first dedicated AMS system (based on a tandem accelerator) was designed and built [24] then, the first dedicated... 

One of the most interesting of the geophysics results from radiocarbon dates is the history of the sun. Apparently, it is registered in fluctuations of the cosmic ray intensity. These are fluctuations of rather short duration in terms of the radiocarbon lifetime, perhaps a century or so, and apparently they are caused by variations in the solar wind due to long-term changes in the solar emissions. This idea has been developed in some detail recently by Dr. Lai and his collaborators. It promises to give us a way of watching the history of the sun over tens of thousands of years. This fine structure on the curve of calibration was discovered by Dr. Suess and others. 

Many accept the Shroud as the authentic burial cloth of Jesus, but those who defend this belief must explain the complete lack of records documenting the Shroud s existence throughout most of its supposed 2000-year history. For all we know today, the Shroud could have been manufactured a short time before its recorded appearance in the early 1350s. The issue of authenticity has therefore generated and sustained great interest in the radiocarbon dating technique. An objective date is possible in fact, an attempt to date the Shroud has been completed. 

More than 150 specialists have been studying all aspects of the Iceman and his equipment. Over 300 books and scientific articles have been published about the Iceman as of 2008. One of the more interesting investigations involves the axe it is almost pure copper. When first discovered, the axe was assumed to be bronze because early copper axes were unknown in this part of Europe. The Iceman was thought to belong to the Bronze Age. Soon, however, radiocarbon dates from the body and the equipment the Iceman carried were obtained and indicated an age of around 4300 BC, in the Neolithic period, long before the Bronze Age. 

Natural radioactivity is useful in establishing the approximate age of objects of archaeological, anthropological, or historical interest. Radiocarbon dating is the estimation of the age of objects through measurement of isotopic ratios of carbon. 

Wernick, R, et al The Monument Builders. New York Time-Life Books, 1973. (See pp. 27 33 for an interesting account of radiocarbon dating in relation to archaeology.)... 

One of the most interesting recent applications of radioactivity is the determination of the age of carbonaceous materials by measurement of their carbon-14 radioactivity. This technique of radiocarbon dating, which was developed by an American physical chemist, Willard F. Libby, permits the dating of samples containing carbon with an accuracy of around 200 years. At the present time the method can be applied to materials that are not over about 50,000 years old. 

Using radiocarbon dates for the study of seismic events requires particular attention to the association between the samples that have been radiocarbon dated and the seismic event of interest. There are a number of different approaches that can be taken depending on the particular context. 

Radiocarbon dates provide constraints for a single seismic event of interest. 

Radiocarbon Dating in Paleoseismology, Fig. 6 Lake and marine cores provide a useful source of evidence for past seismic events. Where radiocarbon is used to date such cores, age-depth models can be used to integrate the information from the dated samples and the depths of the samples and events of Interest. The central panel shows schematically the underlying assumption for a simple Poisson process model, where randomly varying... 

TO-130 is a radiocarbon data log number that permits any interested party to contact the Toronto ISOTRACE Lab and request data on date 130. 

Carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses today are a routine part of the study of human skeletal remains. They are usually calculated along with radiocarbon measurements at dating laboratories. There are other isotopes that may also be of interest in the study of diet such as hydrogen and sulfur, but these are less well understood. 

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