Evaluation of 14C ages of organic fractions of paleosols from loess-paleosol sequences near Xian, China

Abstract

The 14C dating of organic fractions from paleosol layers containing <2% carbon in loess-paleosol sequences from the loess plateau in China has yielded results that are quite often much younger than the true age of the sediments. Percolation of modern organic materials from agricultural activities, and binding of these materials within the weathered clays of the paleosols has meant that conventional pretreatment techniques for 14C dating would not isolate a reliable chemical fraction. -from Authors