Comparison of 14C and 210Pb - 137Cs - 241Am dating methods of a recent bat guano deposit (Lot,SW France)

Bat guano deposits are increasingly used as records of past environmental changes, an approach that requires a precise chronology of the guano layers. This paper presents a comparison between the well-established ¹⁴C dating method and methods based on natural ²¹⁰Pb excesses, (²¹⁰Pb)_ex, and artificial radionuclides ¹³⁷Cs and ²⁴¹Am. The studied example is a bat guano deposit from a cave in SW France (the Brantites III cave), which is currently investigated for paleo-environmental reconstructions using stable isotopes. ¹⁴C data show that the upper part of the guano deposit accumulated during the last 150 years with a marked increase in accumulation rates after around 1960 AD. While the incorporation of atmospheric ¹⁴C in guano is a well-understood process, the origin of ²¹⁰Pb excesses is more complex. Based on consideration of ¹³⁷Cs and (²¹⁰Pb)_ex inventories recorded in undisturbed soils in France, and the measured inventories in the guano deposit, we suggest that most of the ²¹⁰Pb excess is produced by ²²²Rn decay in the cave air and then adsorbed onto the guano. As Radon concentrations in caves can vary significantly on both short and long-term timescales, one needs to be cautious before applying the often-used CRS (constant rate of supply of ²¹⁰Pb excess) model to guano dating. Our (²¹⁰Pb)_ex data are best interpreted by two successive periods of roughly constant, but widely different accumulation rates (0.3 cm/y and 2.6 cm/y before and after 1960, respectively) and (²¹⁰Pb)_ex fluxes. We suggest that these relatively abrupt variations result from a change in cave ventilation leading to a more favourable shelter for bats after 1960. The upper 40 cm of the deposit shows evidence of ²¹⁰Pb mobility, adding a further complexity to the interpretation of (²¹⁰Pb)_ex profiles in guano deposits. However, the existence of well-defined ¹³⁷Cs and ²⁴¹Am peaks allows a precise identification of the year of maximum atmospheric fallouts (～1963–1964). When the ages provided by artificial radionuclides are combined with the ²¹⁰Pb-derived accumulation rates, an age model can be built, which is in good agreement with the ¹⁴C age model. This example shows that the (²¹⁰Pb)_ex method, when associated with ¹³⁷Cs (²⁴¹Am) data, can be used to date recent guano deposit, although its application is not as straightforward as the ¹⁴C method.