Marine radiocarbon reservoir effects (MRE) in archaeology : temporal and spatial changes through the Holocene within the UK coastal environment
The purpose of this research was to investigate temporal and spatial trends in the Marine Radiocarbon Reservoir Effect (MRE) on the North Sea coast of Scotland throughout the Holocene. The MRE is a 14C age offset between contemporaneous marine derived carbon and its terrestrial counterpart, owing to the extended residence time of 14C in oceanic environments. This results in marine samples being depleted in 14C relative to contemporaneous terrestrial samples and consequently, the production of 14C ages that are erroneously old. The offset between contemporaneous marine and terrestrial entities varies through space and time on a global scale and so a single correction factor cannot be universally applied. In order to gain a coherent understanding of the MRE, its variability and its full impact on the radiocarbon dating of samples containing marine derived carbon, a brief background to the fundamental principles of radiocarbon dating is presented. This is followed by a global overview of variability in the MRE before focussing on the UK coastal environment, and in particular the North Sea coast of Scotland. Using contemporaneous multiple terrestrial and marine entities from secure archaeological contexts, this
Russell, Nicola
QE Geology ; CC Archaeology
Marine radiocarbon reservoir effects (MRE) in archaeology : temporal and spatial changes through the Holocene within the UK coastal environment. The purpose of this research was to investigate temporal and spatial trends in the Marine Radiocarbon Reservoir Effect (MRE) on the North Sea coast of Scotland throughout the Holocene. The MRE is a 14C age offset between contemporaneous marine derived carbon and its terrestrial counterpart, owing to the extended residence time of 14C in oceanic environments. This results in marine samples being depleted in 14C relative to contemporaneous terrestrial samples and consequently, the production of 14C ages that are erroneously old. The offset between contemporaneous marine and terrestrial entities varies through space and time on a global scale and so a single correction factor cannot be universally applied. In order to gain a coherent understanding of the MRE, its variability and its full impact on the radiocarbon dating of samples containing marine derived carbon, a brief background to the fundamental principles of radiocarbon dating is presented. This is followed by a global overview of variability in the MRE before focussing on the UK coastal environment, and in particular the North Sea coast of Scotland. Using contemporaneous multiple terrestrial and marine entities from secure archaeological contexts, this
marine radiocarbon reservoir effect archaeology temporal_spatial change holocene within coastal environment purpose_investigate temporal_spatial trend marine radiocarbon reservoir effect north_sea coast scotland throughout holocene age offset contemporaneous marine derive carbon terrestrial counterpart owe extend residence time oceanic environment marine sample relative contemporaneous terrestrial sample consequently production age old offset contemporaneous marine terrestrial entity varies space_time global_scale single correction factor universally apply order_gain coherent variability full impact radiocarbon_date sample contain marine derive carbon brief background fundamental principle radiocarbon_date present follow global overview variability focus coastal environment particular north_sea coast scotland using contemporaneous multiple terrestrial marine entity secure archaeological_context