Ultra-small carbon samples and the dating of sediments

Abstract

The development of AMS techniques for dating ultra-small (20-500μg) carbon samples permits dating various components of cored sediments. We give examples of physical and chemical fractions of sediments which illustrate the large differences in ages obtainable from materials at the same sediment depth. The dating of all or several of these fractions demands more complex interpretations than just the derivation of a sedimentation rate from whole organic carbon dates. -from Authors