Hello all,
I confused the units and symbols for calculation of radiocarbon age. Can I determine the samples’ year (before present) if I have 14C (big delta, per mil) or pMC data. For example, i get the soil sample with 14C= -700 per mil, what equation can be used to calculate the year of this sample? Thank you so much.
I am confused by them too! But you can cut the Gordian Knot by taking the 14C date and looking up the true date from a graph or table.
The problem is that if you do that for a sample that is less than ~500 years old, you may get more than one date. That's Earth Science - nothing is easy!
Radiocarbon ages vary from true calendar ages because the production rate of 14C changes in the atmosphere with time due to the interaction of cosmic rays, the solar wind, Earth's magnetic field and the redistribution of carbon between the deep ocean, biosphere, and atmosphere. In addition, for radiocarbon dates generated from material that was not in contact with the atmosphere during synthesis, (for example, benthic foraminifera) you need to correct for the age of the reservoir from which the 14C was initially extracted. While there are a number of potential sources of error, it is possible to quantify these errors through careful analysis and when possible comparison of multiple dating methods.
Here are some sources with background information you may find helpful:
http://calib.qub.ac.uk/calib/
https://www.radiocarbon.org/index.html
https://c14.arch.ox.ac.uk/embed.php?File=calibration.html
http://radiocarbon.ldeo.columbia.edu/research/radiocarbon.htm
http://www.chrono.qub.ac.uk/blaauw/wiggles/
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