Radiocarbon: A chronological tool for the recent past

The past few hundred years have seen large fluctuations in atmospheric ¹⁴C concentration. In part, these have been the result of natural factors, including the climatic changes of the Little Ice Age, and the Spörer and Maunder solar activity minima. In addition, however, changes in human activity since the middle of the 19th century have released ¹⁴C-free CO₂ to the atmosphere. Moreover, between c. 1955 and c. 1963, atmospheric nuclear weapon testing resulted in a dramatic increase in the concentration of ¹⁴C in the atmosphere. This was followed by a significant decrease in atmospheric ¹⁴C as restrictions on nuclear weapon testing began to take effect and as rapid exchange occurred between the atmosphere and other carbon reservoirs. The large fluctuations in atmospheric ¹⁴C that occurred prior to 1955 mean that a single radiocarbon date may yield an imprecise calibrated age consisting of several possible age ranges. This difficulty may be overcome by obtaining a series of ¹⁴C dates from a sequence and either wiggle-matching these dates to a radiocarbon calibration curve or using additional information on dated materials and their surrounding environment to narrow the calibrated age ranges associated with each ¹⁴C date. For the period since 1955 (the bomb-pulse period), significant differences in atmospheric ¹⁴C levels between consecutive years offer the possibility of dating recent samples with a resolution of from one to a few years. These approaches to dating the recent past are illustrated using examples from peats, lake and salt marsh sediments, tree rings, marine organisms and speleothems.     

近2000年都兰树轮10年尺度的气候变化及其与中国其它地区温度代用资料的比较

据高分辨率的青海都兰树轮年表 ,将过去 2 0 0 0年的气候变化划分为 2 30’S以前的高温期 ,2 40’S～ 80 0’S冷暖波动强烈的低温期 ,810’S～ 10 70’S显著高温期 ,即中世纪暖期 ,10 80’S～ 1880’S的低温期 ,其中包括 142 0’S～1870’S的小冰期 ,以及 1890’S后的升温期。统计发现 11次极端高温或低温事件 ,以及几次大的突变事件全部出现于中世纪之前 ,指示 15 0’S～ 110 0’S期间气候运行的高度不稳定性。和中国东部、古里雅冰芯和青藏高原南部温度代用资料比较后发现 ,公元初至 3世纪前期的东汉暖期 ,3世纪后期至 7世纪初的魏晋南北朝冷期 (期间约380’S～ 46 0’S暖 ) ,中世纪暖期以及小冰期等几次重大的气候事件在中国东部、都兰和青藏高原南部序列中均存在。古里雅冰芯仅记录了前两次重要事件 ,中世纪暖期以及小冰期在该序列中表现微弱。 2 0世纪的升温在古里雅冰芯最显著 ,都兰、中国东部次之 ,而高原南部似乎不明显。     

The earliest prehistoric pottery in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and its archaeological implications

Remains of prehistoric human activity in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) were often found exposed in the surface due to strong erosion. Thus, archaeological sites containing continuous and integral cultural remains within stratigraphic layers are rare in the plateau. The Jiangxigou site, located in the south of Qinghai Lake basin and in the northeastern margin of the plateau, are such a site with ages ranging from the early to late Holocene, i.e. from the Paleolithic to the Neolithic. Our excavation disclosed remains including more than 700 pieces of microliths, 14 pottery pieces, and other cultural relics. The oldest pottery fragments were found at the depth of 75 cm in the section, and in particular, a painted pottery piece was found at the depth of 61 cm. In this study, both luminescence (TL and OSL) and radiocarbon dating were employed to establish the chronology for these remains. Two pieces of pottery were dated using thermoluminescence (TL), another two pieces of pottery were dated by OSL, and three charcoal samples by AMS ¹⁴C. TL age of pottery piece P14 from the depth of 75 cm is 7.06 ± 0.51 ka, making it the earliest pottery in the Tibetan Plateau. The AMS ¹⁴C age of charcoals from the same depth of 75 cm is 6805 ± 95 Cal a BP, in agreement with TL age of P14. OSL age of pottery P12 from the depth of 60–70 cm is 6.50 ± 0.47 ka, and OSL age of pottery P9 from 54 cm is 4.97 ± 0.25 ka. Thus, the age of the painted pottery piece at the depth of 61 cm should be ∼5.50 ka by interpolation, making it the earliest painted pottery in the QTP. The pottery P14 has many common features similar to that of the Yangshao culture in China. We suggest that, before 7 ka, hunters using microlithic had been living in the northeastern margin of the QTP. Since 7 ka, these native microlithic hunters had been affected by the Neolithic Yangshao culture from the Loess Plateau, which was characterized by well-developed pottery. Agricultural growers migrated from the lower elevation of the Loess Plateau to the east of the QTP, leading to profound cultural exchanges with highland native microlithic hunters.     

“三苗日食”的可能年代

史载上古禹时日妖宵出被解释为日落时发生的日食。分析了相关史料、该日食的各种可能年代及其戌地球自转长期变化的关系。     

应用“构造-气候旋回”年代学方法确定河流阶地形成时代的初步研究

应用“构造－气候旋回”年代学方法确定了祁连山地区河流阶地形成时代和抬升速率,探讨了应用该方法确定阶地形成时代的可能性,结果表明：应用该方法确定河流阶地形成时代基本可行,只是对于低级阶地形成时代的拟合结果需用实测值来校正,第四纪以来祁连山地区的构造抬升呈间歇性,经历了4个较强烈的构造抬升期。     

210pb as a chronometer and tracer,Burrinjuck Reservoir,Australia

Cores taken at Burrinjuck Reservoir in southeastern New South Wales have been dated using the first appearance of ¹³⁷Cs, charcoal/bushfire correlations, and annual grass pollen peaks. None of the main ²¹⁰Pb dating models reproduced the ‘known’ chronology. Correlation analysis shows no significant relationship between original ²¹⁰Pb (unsupp.) concentration and grain-size, sedimentation rate or loss on ignition. Differences in sediment source may explain the variations in ²¹⁰Pb. A simple provenance model has been used to interpret the ratio of original ²¹⁰Pb (unsupp.)/²²⁶Ra as a tracer of topsoils and subsoils. High ratios in the reservoir sediments probably indicate eroded topsoils and low ratios eroded subsoils.     

Petrography,chronology and Hf isotope constraints on origin of the ore-bearing granodiorite in Zhibula copper deposit,TibetEI北大核心CSCD

The Zhibula skarn-type copper polymetallic deposit is a large copper deposit. It is located 2-3 km south of the Qulong porphyry copper deposit, in the middle section of the Gandise metallogenic belt in Tibet. The ores are commonly bedded, stratoid and vein-like hosted in the interformational detachment zone between tuff and marble and in the fracture zone. The granodiorite was discovered lately in the drill holes. The contact zone between granodiorite and tuff or marble is skarnized. The skarn-type ore deposit is closely related to the granodiorite as was demonstrated by the gradual change from the tuff, hornfels, and skarn, to the skarnized granodiorite. LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb dating yields a weight average 206Pb/238U age of 16.0±0.4 Ma, which is close to the Re-Os isochron age (16.9±0.6 Ma) of molybdenites from the ores. The granodiorite has εHf(t) values in range of 3.2-12 and single-stage model ages between 209-563 Ma, which are similar to those of the Miocene intrusives in the Qulong areas. The zircon Hf isotopic compositions of the granodiorite indicate that the magma is likely resulted from partial melting of the juvenile lower crust. The granodiorites are determined as the ore-forming intrusive of the Zhibula skarn-type deposit, and they are derived from the same magma system with those associate with Qulong deposits. Both of them are are of hydrothermal origin. ©, 2015, Science Press. All right reserved.     

福州复式岩体的成因:锆石U-Pb年代学、地球化学及Hf同位素约束

福州复式岩体Ⅰ-A型复合花岗岩的岩石成因与源区性质目前尚未得到很好认识.本文对福州复式岩体花岗岩进行了岩石学、锆石U-Pb年代学、主量和微量元素地球化学及锆石Hf同位素研究.该复式岩体花岗岩可分为钙碱性和碱性系列.LA-ICP-MS锆石U-Pb定年结果表明,钙碱性系列花岗岩形成年龄为111 ～ 101Ma,是早白垩世多...     

灌丛沙堆形成演化及年代学研究现状与进展

灌丛沙堆的形成演化与区域气候环境密切相关,是古环境演化领域的重要研究对象。灌丛沙堆多发育于晚全新世以来,可靠的、高分辨率测年数据及地层沉积序列是其演化得以重建的关键,但其形成演化及年代学研究在技术手段方面尚没有新的突破,有关其不同发育阶段高分辨率的年代数据缺乏。围绕灌丛沙堆的发育过程、年代学、地层沉积序列及其形成演化与区域环境等方面,综述了近年来国内外灌丛沙堆已有的研究成果,认为灌丛沙堆各发育阶段与年代学关系、高分辨率年代结果及其形成演化在反映高原内陆盆地古风沙活动、古环境变化等方面的研究还有待深入。