Radiocarbon as a Dating Tool and Tracer in Palaeoceanography
Authors
Skinner, LC
Bard, E
Publication Date
2022Journal Title
Reviews of Geophysics
ISSN
8755-1209
Publisher
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Volume
60
Issue
1
Language
en
Type
Article
This Version
AO
VoR
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Skinner, L., & Bard, E. (2022). Radiocarbon as a Dating Tool and Tracer in Palaeoceanography. Reviews of Geophysics, 60 (1) https://doi.org/10.1029/2020rg000720
Description
Funder: Royal Society; Id: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000288
Funder: Isaac Newton Trust; Id: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100004815
Funder: EQUIPEX ASTER‐CEREGE
Abstract
Radiocarbon is an extremely useful carbon cycle tracer and radiometric dating tool. Here, we review the main principles and challenges involved in the use of radiocarbon in palaeoceanography. First, we present a conceptual framework in which there are three possible uses of a radiocarbon measurement: 1) to obtain a calendar age interval, or a fossil entity’s age; 2) to obtain an estimate of a carbon reservoir’s past radiocarbon activity; or 3) to compare the relative radiocarbon activities of two contemporary carbon reservoirs. We discuss the analysis of marine fossil material, the generation of an atmospheric reference curve, and the interpretation of marine radiocarbon ‘ventilation metrics’ in relation to this reference curve. It is emphasized that marine radiocarbon integrates the influences of: changing radiocarbon production; air-sea gas exchange effects at the sea surface; transport times within the ocean interior; and the mixing of water parcels with different transit times from the sea surface, and different sea-surface sources. These controls are what make radiocarbon such a powerful palaeoceanographic tracer, though the difficulty of disentangling them is what makes marine radiocarbon dating and tracer studies so challenging. We discuss the implementation of radiocarbon in numerical models, and explore the theory linking ocean-atmosphere partitioning of radiocarbon and CO2. Finally, we review existing records of marine radiocarbon variability over the last ∼25,000 years, which highlight the influence of ocean-atmosphere carbon exchange on past atmospheric CO2 and climate, and point to emerging opportunities for resolving the global radiocarbon- and carbon budgets over the last glacial cycle.
Keywords
ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE, Air/sea constituent fluxes, Volcanic effects, BIOGEOSCIENCES, Climate dynamics, Paleoclimatology and paleoceanography, Biogeochemical kinetics and reaction modeling, Biogeochemical cycles, processes, and modeling, Modeling, COMPUTATIONAL GEOPHYSICS, Numerical solutions, CRYOSPHERE, Avalanches, Mass balance, Biogeochemistry, GEOCHRONOLOGY, Cosmogenic‐nuclide exposure dating, GEODESY AND GRAVITY, Ocean monitoring with geodetic techniques, Ocean/Earth/atmosphere/hydrosphere/cryosphere interactions, Global change from geodesy, GLOBAL CHANGE, Oceans, Abrupt/rapid climate change, Climate variability, Earth system modeling, Impacts of global change, Land/atmosphere interactions, Regional climate change, Sea level change, Solid Earth, Water cycles, HYDROLOGY, Climate impacts, Hydrological cycles and budgets, INFORMATICS, MARINE GEOLOGY AND GEOPHYSICS, Gravity and isostasy, ATMOSPHERIC PROCESSES, Climate change and variability, Climatology, General circulation, Ocean/atmosphere interactions, Paleoclimatology, Regional modeling, Theoretical modeling, OCEANOGRAPHY: GENERAL, Climate and interannual variability, Numerical modeling, NATURAL HAZARDS, Atmospheric, Geological, Oceanic, Physical modeling, Climate impact, Risk, Disaster risk analysis and assessment, OCEANOGRAPHY: PHYSICAL, Air/sea interactions, Decadal ocean variability, Ocean influence of Earth rotation, Sea level: variations and mean, Surface waves and tides, Tsunamis and storm surges, OCEANOGRAPHY: BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL, PALEOCEANOGRAPHY, Cosmogenic isotopes, POLICY SCIENCES, Benefit‐cost analysis, RADIO SCIENCE, Radio oceanography, SEISMOLOGY, Earthquake ground motions and engineering seismology, Volcano seismology, VOLCANOLOGY, Volcano/climate interactions, Atmospheric effects, Volcano monitoring, Effusive volcanism, Mud volcanism, Explosive volcanism, Volcanic hazards and risks, Review Article
Sponsorship
Isaac Newton Trust (Minute 749(f))
The Royal Society (uf061471)
Natural Environment Research Council (NE/L006421/1)
Identifiers
rog20273, 2020rg000720
External DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2020rg000720
This record's URL: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/333741
Rights
Licence:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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