Radiocarbon dating of individual fatty acids as a tool for refining Antarctic margin sediment chronologies

TitleRadiocarbon dating of individual fatty acids as a tool for refining Antarctic margin sediment chronologies
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2003
AuthorsOhkouchi, N, Eglinton, TI, Hayes, JM
JournalRadiocarbon
Volume45
Issue1
Pagination17-24
Date Published2003
ISBN Number0033-8222
Keywordscarbon, ice-sheet, marine-sediments, north-atlantic, organic-matter, ross-sea, southern-ocean
Abstract

We have measured the radiocarbon contents of individual, solvent-extractable, short-chain (C-14, C-16, and C-18) fatty acids isolated from Ross Sea surface sediments. The corresponding C-14 ages are equivalent to that of the post-bomb dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) reservoir. Moreover, molecular C-14 variations in surficial (upper 15 cm) sediments indicate that these compounds may prove useful for reconstructing chronologies of Antarctic margin sediments containing uncertain (and potentially variable) quantities of relict organic carbon. A preliminary molecular C-14 chronology suggests that the accumulation rate of relict organic matter has not changed during the last 500 C-14 yr. The focus of this study is to determine the validity of compound-specific C-14 analysis as a technique for reconstructing chronologies of Antarctic margin sediments.