Dating the recent past

The dramatic environmental changes of the last 500 years are likely to continue into the future and to have an increasing impact on both the Earth and human society. Any understanding of future environmental change is thus critically dependent on our capacity to reconstruct the environmental changes of the past. Fundamental to this is an ability to place the environmental responses of the last half millennium within a reliable chronological framework. Unfortunately, this most recent part of the geological timescale presents us with some of the greatest challenges for dating. With the exception of ²³⁰Th/²³⁴U methods, whose use is restricted to the rather specific depositional environments of shallow marine and terrestrial carbonates, there is no established geochronometric tool capable of dating more than a fraction of the recent past at a resolution adequate to tackle the environmental issues of this period. This challenge has been met by refining existing procedures (including ¹⁴C, ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar, event chronostratigraphy and optically stimulated luminescence) and developing new ones (such as ³²Si). These offer a means of calibrating the high-resolution environmental records of the last 500 years and answering the critical environmental questions presented by this period.     

Silicon-32 as a tool for dating the recent past

Silicon-32, with a half-life of approximately 140 years, has the potential to fill the dating gap that lies between those chronologies based on the shorter-lived isotopes of ³H and ²¹⁰Pb, and those based on the longer-lived ¹⁴C. Silicon-32 is produced in the atmosphere by cosmic ray bombardment of argon, and falls out on the Earth's surface in precipitation. Silicon-32 methods may be used to date siliceous sediments and sponges, groundwater and glacier ice. Measurement of ³²Si concentrations in these archives is, however, not straightforward. Two methods are available: radioactive-decay counting of the activity of the daughter nucleus, ³²P, and accelerator mass spectrometry, but in both cases the detection of ³²Si pushes the boundaries of the technique. Even the half-life of ³²Si is not known to a precision of better than ±10%. In this paper, we review efforts to determine the isotope's half-life, survey the detection methods and discuss the applications of ³²Si chronology. We show that at least some of the chronometric potential of this radioisotope is close to being realised as a result of recent improvements in methods of measurement.     

Event chronostratigraphy: A high-resolution tool for dating the recent past

The most recent part of the geological timescale presents us with some of the greatest challenges for dating. With the exception of ²³⁰Th/²³⁴U methods, whose use is restricted to rather specific depositional environments, there is no established geochronometric tool capable of dating more than a fraction of the recent past at a resolution adequate to tackle the environmental issues of this period. Event stratigraphy, the investigation of comparatively rare and abrupt occurrences that leave some trace in the stratigraphic record, has been widely employed as a means of correlation and dating of older geological strata. Yet this approach has frequently been overlooked in efforts to establish chronologies of the recent past. It is ironic, therefore, that because of the acceleration of human activity, stratigraphic events have almost certainly occurred with greater frequency over the last few centuries than at any preceding time in Earth history. Because the history of human-induced events is usually well-established, the markers of such events have immense chronostratigraphic value. They may be employed in circumstances in which radiometric techniques may not be suitable, and may offer higher-resolution dates than those associated with conventional dating methods. Dated event horizons may also provide the essential means by which to validate geochronometric analyses of the recent past.Event markers may be divided into those that produce discontinuities in the rock record and those (of much greater value in the terrestrial deposits that are the focus of most investigations of the recent past) that leave some tangible signal in the rocks. These signals may be the result of either natural factors or human-induced processes, and may occur in a range of temporal contexts. They may mark the instant of occurrence of a short-lived phenomenon, or they may represent the abrupt disappearance or sudden appearance of some feature. This paper reviews each of these markers, focussing specifically on their application to the chronology of the recent past and the global environmental transformation that has taken place during this time.     

High-precision U–U–Th disequilibrium dating of the recent past: a review

Although it was demonstrated 20 years ago that mass spectrometric U–Th methods are capable of high-precision dating of young corals, the use of this approach to decipher recent environmental, climatic and archaeological records is still restricted and its potential has not yet been widely recognised. U–Th methods are typically used to determine the ages of carbonate materials such as speleothem and coral. Dating young carbonates of this sort is challenging. Their extremely low ²³⁰Th content necessitates stricter instrumental and laboratory conditions than those required for dating older samples. Moreover, analyses must be corrected for the presence of non-radiogenic ²³⁰Th, which is proportionally far more significant than in older samples. Nevertheless, 2σ precisions of around ±1–10 years are readily achievable for pristine coral samples dating from the last 500 years. Although the range of analytical precisions for speleothems may vary more widely depending on U concentrations and levels of non-radiogenic ²³⁰Th correction, published studies reveal 2σ precisions of around ±10–80 years for typical speleothems. This paper demonstrates how the U–Th method may be applied to establish the causes of recent coral mortality, to determine the recurrence interval of extreme wave events, to investigate earthquake frequency and neotectonic uplift, to reconstruct recent climatic history, and to understand settlement patterns and sociopolitical changes in Polynesia prior to European contact.     

口泉断裂中段晚第四纪最新活动研究

通过航、卫片解译与野外地质地貌调查,对口泉断裂中段(上神泉至杨家窑段)晚第四纪以来的活动特征开展了系统研究.野外调查表明,口泉断裂中段在禅房以北断错了T1阶地砂土卵砾石层,最顶部一直断错至阶地上覆的黑垆土层下部.最大垂直断距位于小峪口至楼子口一带,不小于3m,向南北两侧分别至大峪口、鹅毛口的垂直位移衰减分别为0.50m、0.25m,表明小峪口至楼子口一带为中段活动中心.根据测年结果,确定中段最新活动发生在距今7.71ka ～3.00ka之间.结合前人研究成果,对中段晚第四纪最新活动进行了探讨.     

Radiocarbon and luminescence dating of the Wulanmulun site in Ordos,and its implication for the chronology of Paleolithic sites in China

After the Salawusu and Shuidonggou sites, the Wulanmulun site found in 2011 is another important Paleolithic site in Ordos, China, due to its numerous stone artifacts and animal fossils. Here, we carry out a combined luminescence and radiocarbon dating of the site. The luminescence dating was done on coarse-grained quartz from 24 sediment samples using a single-aliquot regenerative-dose (SAR) protocol. The radiocarbon dating was performed on ten charcoal samples and one bone sample using acid-base-acid (ABA) and acid–base-wet oxidation-stepped combustion (ABOx-SC) pretreatments. The results showed that: (i) although some samples show relative large (>20%) overdispersion in De distribution (small aliquots), the quartz grains are considered to be sufficiently bleached before burial; (ii) the quartz OSL ages of ∼4–65 ka obtained for the samples are generally stratigraphically consistent and reliable; (iii) the radiocarbon ages obtained using the ABA pretreatment procedure are much younger than the corresponding OSL ages, and the radiocarbon ages obtained using the ABOx-SC method are beyond or close to the laboratory background. The radiocarbon ages obtained using the ABA treatment were considered to be underestimated. This implication is that caution must be taken for dating Chinese Paleolithic (>25 ka) using the ABA pretreatment procedure on carbon samples. Finally, the cultural layers from the Wulanmulun site are deduced to be between 50 and 65 ka.     

Ice core record of Be over the past millennium from Dome Fuji, Antarctica: A new proxy record of past solar activity and a powerful tool for stratigraphic dating

The cosmogenic nuclide ¹⁰Be was analyzed by using accelerator mass spectrometry on an ice core drilled at the Dome Fuji station, inland Antarctica, for 700–1900 yr CE. The measured concentration of ¹⁰Be in the Dome Fuji ice core and the derived ¹⁰Be flux show similar fluctuations, with both increasing at known solar-activity minima over the last millennium in agreement with earlier observations of ¹⁰Be and ¹⁴C. Based on the similar nature of the ¹⁰Be flux to the reconstructed ¹⁴C production rate patterns, a ¹⁰Be–¹⁴C correlation age model for the Dome Fuji ice core was successfully constructed. This age model agrees well with the initial version of the tephrochronology of the core. The ¹⁰Be-flux record contains information on variability in the amount of cosmic radiation incident on the atmosphere, which is mainly attributable to high-frequency change in solar activity and low-frequency background intensity adjustment of the geomagnetic field. High-resolution ¹⁰Be analyses of the Dome Fuji ice cores promise to provide potentially important information on the history of cosmic radiation intensity over the past several hundred thousand years.     

Radiocarbon reservoir corrections on the Brazilian coast from pre-bomb marine shells

Despite the great extent of the Brazilian coast, there are very few studies on the marine radiocarbon reservoir correction local offset (ΔR) for this region.In the present study, we used marine shells from the malacological collection of the National Museum of Brazil to obtain values of ΔR for different locations on the Brazilian coast. According to the museum records, the mollusks were collected alive from the coasts of Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul, São Paulo and Bahia, prior to the ¹⁴C bomb-peak. The exact year of collection for each shell is known.The samples were chemically prepared and measured at the Radiocarbon Laboratory of the Universidade Federal Fluminense (LAC-UFF) in Brazil. The conventional ages were calibrated using the Marine13 curve and the ΔR values were calculated using the OxCal software. The values range from 17 ± 56 ¹⁴C yr in São José do Norte, Rio Grande do Sul to 96 ± 48 ¹⁴C yr in Cabo Frio, Rio de Janeiro.     

口泉断裂中段晚第四纪最新活动研究

Systematic research of the characteristics of late Quaternary activity of the middle part of Kouquan fault has been done through conducting 1∶50000 geologic mapping combining with remote sensing interpretation of spot imaging, field validating and chronology research of the research area. Studies suggest that the middle part of Kouquan fault has had strong activity since the late Quaternary which controls the tectonic evolvement of the nearby mountains and Datong basin. The recent activity of this fault has faulted the sandy gravel layers of T1 terrace and the lower part of dark loessial soils over the terrace on the north of Chanfang village. The maximum vertical displacement is over 3m in the area between Xiaoyukou village and Louzikou village, and to the south of Dayukou village and the north of Emaokou village, the displacement decreases to 0.5m and 0.25m respectively. Based on the recent faulted landforms and combined with dating, we determined the age of recent activity of the fault in the research area to be between 7.71ka B.P. to 3.00 ka B.P. Discussions are made on this in combination with previous research.     

A radiocarbon chronology for Sanamere Lagoon,Cape York Peninsula,using multiple organic fractions

The selection and pre-treatment of reliable organic fractions for radiocarbon age determination is fundamental to the development of accurate chronologies. Sampling from tropical lakes is particularly challenging given the adverse preservation conditions and diagenesis in these environments. Our research is the first to examine and quantify the differences between radiocarbon ages from different carbon fractions and pretreatment protocols from tropical lake sediments. Six different organic fractions (bulk organics, pollen concentrate, cellulose, stable polycyclic aromatic carbon (SPAC), macrocharcoal >250 μm and microcharcoal >63 μm) were compared at six different depths along a 1.72 m long core extracted from Sanamere Lagoon, Cape York Peninsula, northern Australia. Acid-base-acid (ABA), modified ABA (30% hydrogen peroxide + ABA), 2chlorOx (a novel cellulose pre-treatment method) and hydrogen pyrolysis (hypy) were used to pre-treat the organic fractions. The oldest date is ∼31,300 calibrated years before present (cal yr BP) and the youngest is ∼2800 cal yr BP, spanning ∼28,500 years. The smallest offset between the minimum and the maximum age for different fractions and across pretreatment methods at a given depth was found to be 832 years (between SPAC and pollen) and the largest ∼16,750 years (between pollen concentrate and SPAC). The SPAC fractions pre-treated with hypy yielded older ages compared to all other fractions in most cases, while bulk organics yielded consistently younger ages. The magnitude and consistency of the offsets and the physical and chemical properties of the tested organic fractions suggest that SPAC is the most reliable fraction to date in tropical lake sediments and that hypy successfully removes exogenous carbon contamination.     

Optically stimulated luminescence dating of young (<500 years old) sediments: Testing estimates of burial dose

The reliability of single-grain optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of young (<500 years old) samples is assessed by examining the results of 166 single-grain OSL analyses of Australian alluvial, lacustrine, estuarine, coastal and marine sediment samples. All samples have been analysed using the modified SAR protocol of Olley et al. [2004b. Optical dating of Holocene sediments from a variety of geomorphic settings using single grains of quartz. Geomorphology 60, 337–358], with burial doses (D_b) calculated by fitting a single Gaussian curve to the peak of a multi-Gaussian summed probability distribution (PDF_Gaussian). The near-equivalence of this approach to currently accepted methods of palaeodose estimation – namely the minimum age and central age models of Galbraith et al. [1999. Optical dating of single and multiple grains of quartz from Jinmium rock shelter, northern Australia: part I, experimental design and statistical models. Archaeometry 41, 339–364] – is demonstrated. Considered as a whole, OSL ages calculated using the PDF_Gaussian D_b determination method are consistent with other chronometric, geomorphological, botanical and historical indicators of depositional age, while four alternative (previously published) methods are generally less reliable when applied to the samples analysed here. The single-grain data from 12 samples of known age (reported by Olley et al. [2004b. Optical dating of Holocene sediments from a variety of geomorphic settings using single grains of quartz. Geomorphology 60, 337–358]) are re-analysed using the PDF_Gaussian approach, with all but one yielding a D_b consistent with the independently known age. Examples of luminescence data (dose recovery tests, preheat plateaux, continuous-wave and linear-modulated OSL, growth curves, single-grain dose distributions) are provided that together indicate the suitability of Australian quartz for dating young sediments.     

New insights into a late-Pleistocene human occupation in America: The Vale da Pedra Furada complete chronological study

Within the framework of the studies focusing on the Pleistocene peopling of the Americas, our French-Brazilian team has undertaken a pluridisciplinary research on different archaeological sites, inside and in the neighborhood of the Serra da Capivara National Park, in Brazilian Nordeste. The present study regards an archaeological site, Vale da Pedra Furada, situated in the Piauí state in Brazil. The results of technological and functional studies suggest the existence of different successive human occupations during the Pleistocene in this region. Moreover, the geological and geomorphological studies shed new light on our understanding of sedimentary processes and confirm that the levels were not subject to any significant post-depositional processes. This is also confirmed by macro- and micro-analysis of quartz artefact surfaces. The chronological study has recently been completed employing both radiocarbon and luminescence techniques; radiocarbon dates were obtained on charcoal, multi-grain and single-grain OSL ages on sedimentary quartz grains. The results obtained with the different methods are consistent with each other: the most recent archaeological level is dated to around 8 ka and the oldest to 24 ka, indicating the open-air site of Vale da Pedra Furada to be a succession of human occupations beginning from OIS 2. These results are discussed in the context of some archaeological sites studied in the Serra da Capivara National Park of the last few decades.     

OSL chronology for a sediment core from the southern Baltic Sea: A continuous sedimentation record since deglaciation

A chronology based on optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating is presented for the late- and post-glacial evolution of the southern Baltic Sea (15 ka to present). During this period, large water level and salinity changes occurred in the Baltic Basin due to opening and closing of connections to the North Atlantic. Previous attempts to establish a chronology for these palaeoenvironmental changes have mainly been conducted in coastal settings where organic material for ¹⁴C dating is abundant. Many of these records are, however, discontinuous due to the large water level fluctuations. In contrast, in the relatively deep water of the Arkona Basin, the sediment record is expected to be more or less continuous. The single aliquot regenerative dose (SAR) procedure was used to date 32 samples of fine quartz sand from a 10.86 m long sediment core from the centre of this basin (45 m water depth). Tests of luminescence characteristics confirmed the suitability of the material for OSL dating and the ages agree well with the available AMS ¹⁴C ages on shells. The Baltic Ice Lake drainage to the North Atlantic appears to occur 11.6 ka, agreeing with other published evidence. However, we suggest that the main marine Littorina transgression appears in the Arkona Basin at about 6.5 ka, rather than at 8.5 ka, as previously thought.     

A radiocarbon-dated gelifluction lobe in the Nachvak Fiord area,northern Labrador,Canada

Radiocarbon dates obtained on organic materials overridden by a gelifluction lobe allow some estimate of past gelifluction rates for a site near sea level in northern Labrador. The calculated mean gelifluction rate for the last 400 years is in the order of 8 mm yr^?1, somewhat higher than the average gelifluction rate described from other locations in the Canadian Arctic. The lobe contains two lithostratigraphic units: an inner diamicton, probably representing a buried gelifluction lobe, overlain by a silt/clay unit which may have been emplaced abruptly as a solifluction sheet. Mean creep rates for these units were in the order of 5 mm yr^?1 and 15 mm yr^?1 respectively. The area is presently subsiding, and transgressive beach material overlies terrestrial organics which are approximately 300 years old.     

Radiocarbon wiggle-match dating of proglacial lake sediments – Implications for the 8.2 ka event

The problem of insufficient age-control limits the utilisation of the 8.2 ka BP event for modelling freshwater forcing in climate change studies. High-resolution radiocarbon dates, magnetic susceptibility and lithostratigraphic evidence from a lake sediment core from Nedre Hervavatnet located at Sygnefjell in western Norway provide a record of the early Holocene. We use the method of radiocarbon wiggle-match dating of the lake sediments using the non-linear relationship between the ¹⁴C calibration curve and the consecutive accumulation order of the sample series in order to build a high-resolution age-model. The timing and duration of Holocene environmental changes is estimated using 38 AMS radiocarbon dates on terrestrial macrofossils, insects and chironomids covering the time period from 9750 to 1180 cal BP. Chironomids, Salix and Betula leaves produce the most consistent results. Sedimentological and physical properties of the core suggest that three meltwater events with high sedimentation rates are superimposed on a long-term trend with glacier retreat between 9750 and 8000 cal BP. The lake sediment sequence of Nedre Hervavatnet demonstrates the following: only a reliable high-resolution geochronology based on carefully selected terrestrial macrofossils allows the reconstruction of a more refined and complex environmental change history before and during the 8.2 ka event.     

Identifying outliers and assessing the accuracy of amino acid racemization measurements for geochronology: I. Age calibration curves

Numerical ages derived from amino acid racemization (AAR) geochronology are typically based on calibration curves that relate the extent of AAR to the age of independently dated specimens. Here, we compare options for developing calibration curves and quantifying age uncertainties using AAR data from 481 late Holocene shells, and AMS ¹⁴C analyses of 36 shells of four molluscan taxa (Ethalia, Natica, Tellina, and Turbo) collected from shallow sediment cores from a back-reef lagoon of the central Great Barrier Reef. The four taxa differed substantially in the quality of their geochronogical results. Explicitly including data from specimens alive at the time of collection improves calibration curves, but weighting numerical ages based on their uncertainty has no effect. Calibration curve statistics do not adequately assess calibration uncertainty. The relation between ages inferred from different amino acids is recommended for identifying aberrant specimens and quantifying the uncertainty of inferred ages. For this study, the AAR ages based on two amino acids (aspartic acid and glutamic acid) exceed 200 yr or 20% of their mean inferred age in 15% of the specimens. Once these were removed, the mean age error (1σ) for individual specimens based on two amino acids analyzed in duplicate subsamples ranged from 53 to 142 yr for Tellina and Turbo, respectively, or about a 30% age error for these relatively young shells. This compares favorably with analytical errors estimated at 50 yr or 5%. The presence of notable outliers undetectable using data from single amino acids emphasizes the importance of analyzing multiple amino acids.     

Optically stimulated luminescence dating of single and multiple grains of quartz from perennially frozen loess in western Yukon Territory, Canada: Comparison with radiocarbon chronologies for the late Pleistocene Dawson tephra

Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of perennially frozen loess was tested on quartz grains extracted from deposits associated with the late Pleistocene Dawson tephra in western Yukon Territory, Canada. OSL samples were obtained from ice-rich loess bracketing the Dawson tephra, while radiocarbon (¹⁴C) samples were collected from the bulk sediments directly underlying the tephra and from a ground-squirrel burrow 2.7 m below the tephra. Here we report the OSL characteristics and ages of the extracted quartz grains, as well as additional radiocarbon ages for samples described in Froese [2002. Age and significance of the late Pleistocene Dawson tephra in eastern Beringia. Quaternary Science Reviews 21, 2137–2142; 2006. Seasonality of the late Pleistocene Dawson tephra and exceptional preservation of a buried riparian surface in central Yukon Territory, Canada. Quaternary Science Reviews 25, 1542–1551]. We refine the time of Dawson tephra deposition to between 25,420±70 and 25,290±80 ¹⁴C a BP. Bayesian analysis of constraining radiocarbon ages places the deposition of the Dawson tephra at between 30,433 and 30,032 cal a BP. Linear modulation (LM) OSL analysis of multi-grain aliquots of quartz showed that the initial part of the decay curve is dominated by a rapidly bleached (‘fast’) component; these samples, however, had relatively dim continuous wave (CW) OSL signals at the multi-grain aliquot (each composed of 80 grains) and single-grain scales of analysis. The single-aliquot regenerative-dose protocol was applied to multi-grain aliquots and single grains to obtain equivalent dose (D_e) values for samples collected from below and above the Dawson tephra. The D_e values were examined graphically and numerically, the latter using the central age, minimum age, and finite mixture models. For multi-grain aliquots, the central age model gave weighted mean D_e values between 30 and 50 Gy, which greatly underestimated the expected D_e of 74–81 Gy for both samples studied. Possible reasons for these underestimations are discussed, and a solution proposed based on single-grain analysis. Measurements of single grains produced D_e values in agreement with the expected D_e, and yielded OSL ages of 28±5 and 30±4 ka for the samples taken from above and below the Dawson tephra, respectively. Examination of individual grains with differing luminescence behaviors showed that a significant number of the measured quartz grains exhibited anomalous luminescence properties that would have compromised the results obtained from multi-grain aliquots. We therefore recommend analysis of individual grains to overcome the age-shortfall from multi-grain analysis of these and similar samples of quartz.     

A tool for the ages: The Probabilistic Cosmogenic Age Analysis Tool (P-CAAT)

While revolutionary to the geomorphic community, the application of terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide (TCN) dating is complicated by geological uncertainties, which often lead to skewed or poorly clustered TCN age distributions. Although a range of statistical approaches are typically used to detect and remove outliers, few are optimized for analysis of TCN datasets. Many are mean- or median-based and therefore explicitly assume a single probability distribution (e.g., Mean Squared Weighted Deviates, Chauvenet's Criterion, etc.). Given the ubiquity of pre- and post-depositional modification of rock surfaces, which occur at different rates in different geomorphic settings, these approaches struggle with multimodal distributions which often characterize TCN datasets. In addition, most statistical approaches do not propagate measurement or production rate uncertainties, which become increasingly important as dataset size or clustering increases. Finally, most approaches provide arithmetic single solutions, irrespective of geologic context.To address these limitations, we present the Probabilistic Cosmogenic Age Analysis Tool (P-CAAT), a new approach for outlier detection and landform age analysis. This tool incorporates both sample age and geologic uncertainties and uses Monte Carlo simulations to eliminate dataset skewness by isolating component normal distributions from a cumulative probability density estimate for datasets with three or more samples. This approach allows geologic context to inform post-analysis interpretations, as researchers can assign landform ages based upon statistically distinct subpopulations, informed by the characteristics of geomorphic systems (e.g., exhumation of boulders as moraines degrade through time). To evaluate the effectiveness of P-CAAT, we analyzed a range of synthetic TCN datasets and compared the results to commonly used statistical approaches for outlier detection. Irrespective of dataset size or clustering, P-CAAT outperformed other approaches and returned accurate solutions that improve in precision as sample size increases. To enable more comprehensive utilization of our approach, P-CAAT is packaged with a GUI interface and is available for download at kgs. uky.edu/anorthite/PCAAT.     

The eruptive rate and history of Kuju volcano in Japan during the past 15,000 years

The eruptive history of Kuju volcano on Kyushu, Japan, during the past 15,000 years has been determined by tephrochronology and ¹⁴C dating. Kuju volcano comprises isolated lava domes and cones of hornblende andesite together with aprons of pyroclastic-flow deposits on its flanks. Kuju volcano produced tephras at roughly 1000-yr intervals during the past 5000 years and 70% of the domes and cones have formed during the past 15,000 years. The youngest magmatic activity of Kuju volcano was the 1.6 km³ andesite eruption about 1600 years ago which emplaced a lava dome and block-and-ash flow. Kuju volcano shows a nearly constant long-term eruption rate (0.7–0.4 km³ for 1000 years) during the past 15,000 years. This rate is within the range of estimated average eruption rates of late Quaternary volcanoes in the Japanese Arc, but is about one order of magnitude higher than the eruption rate of Unzen volcano. Kuju volcano has been in phreatic eruption since October 1995. The late Quaternary history of Kuju indicates that it poses a significant volcanic hazard, primarily due to block-and-ash flows from collapsing lava domes.     

Neoglacial gelifluction in the Jostedalsbreen Region,Western Norway: Evidence from dated buried palaeopodsols

Radiocarbon dating of thin palaeopodsols buried beneath turf-banked gelifluction lobes at four localities in the low alpine mountain zone in the Jostedalsbreen region, western Norway, show that gelifluction processes were initiated subsequent to the late Subboreal Chronozone. Although large age-depth gradients have been demonstrated from buried palaeosols in southern Norway, evidence is presented that the palaeosols in this study show only moderate age-depth gradients. The age estimates from these buried palaeosols give maximum dates of burial, but the error is not thought to be large. Gelifluction processes were probably initiated close to the time of the climatic deterioration, which led to the formation of the present glaciers during the Subatlantic Chronozone. The processes may have been most active during the peak of the Little Ice Age, during which a periglacial climate was established to low levels in this mountainous region.