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Fluvially transported charcoal gives erroneous 14C ages for recent deposits

Nature volume 271, pages 739–741 (1978)Cite this article

Abstract

IN carbon dating of material included in fluviatile deposits, it is usually assumed that either there is little age difference between the dateable material and the fluvial deposit, or that the 14C sample and the deposit in which it is contained are sufficiently old for the age difference to be of little consequence. We report here on how a series of dates on charcoal from the bed of the Macdonald River, New South Wales, Australia, casts doubt on these assumptions and indicates that serious errors can occur in relating the radiocarbon ages of charcoal samples to the fluvial deposits in which they lie.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Earth Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde, New South Wales, 2113, Australia

    R. J. BLONG

  2. Sydney University Radiocarbon Laboratory, Department of Physical Chemistry, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, 2006, Australia

    R. GILLESPIE

Authors
  1. R. J. BLONG
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  2. R. GILLESPIE
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BLONG, R., GILLESPIE, R. Fluvially transported charcoal gives erroneous 14C ages for recent deposits. Nature 271, 739–741 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1038/271739a0

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