Radiocarbon dating (Pinaceae)

Knowledge graph centered on Radiocarbon dating (Pinaceae) with 30 nodes and 107 connections. Top connected: Spruce, Atriplex canescens, Dead wood biomass and turnover time, measured by r, elevational gradients, Picea engelmannii.

Method synopsis

Collection of outermost growth rings from dead wood samples, chemical pretreatment using AAA method, and accelerator mass spectrometry analysis to determine time since tree death. Calendar ages estimated by matching radiocarbon signatures to atmospheric reference curves.

Synthesized from method descriptions across 1 paper using this protocol.

Procedure from a recent peer-reviewed implementation

Steps below were extracted from the most recent peer-reviewed implementation of this protocol in the corpus — Dead wood biomass and turnover time, measured by radiocarbon, along a subalpine elevation gradient (2004), Oecologia. Implementations in other papers (listed below) may differ.

1. Collect wood samples for radiocarbon dating
   From the same 42 logs, sampled the outermost growth rings from intact sections with shred of bark still remaining. Used hole saw to remove 2-3 cm diameter shavings from outer face of disk, then removed 20-60 mg of thin shavings using scalpel. For older ring samples, used tree-coring tool to extract multiple quantitative core samples.
   Quantities: 42 wood samples collected from same logs used for tissue density, taking 20-60 mg of thin shavings per sampleDuration: Sampling conducted in 2001Conditions: Targeted outermost growth rings with remaining bark
   Equipment: hole saw, scalpel, tree-coring tool
2. Pretreat wood samples for radiocarbon analysis
   Treated wood shavings using acid/alkali/acid (AAA) procedure followed by bleach prior to radiocarbon analysis to remove resins, sugars, and lignin. Used AAA method and acid plus bleach to construct radiocarbon calibration curve from tree ring samples. Treated samples with 1 N NaOH, then 1 N HCl heated to 95°C for 25 min, repeating until solution remained clear.
   Quantities: All 42 wood samples pretreated using standardized chemical procedureDuration: 25 min heating cycles repeated until clear solutionConditions: Heated to 95°C during HCl treatment
   Equipment: 1 N NaOH, 1 N HCl, commercial bleach, sonicator, heating apparatus
3. Radiocarbon analysis and dating

Typical Equipment

• hole saw
• scalpel
• tree-coring tool
• 1 N NaOH
• 1 N HCl
• commercial bleach
• sealed quartz tubes
• vacuum line
• accelerator mass spectrometer
• OxCal v. 3.8 program

Output Measurements

• 14C/12C ratios
• Δ14C values
• calendar year of death

Papers Using This Protocol (1)

Species Studied With This Protocol