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Accelerator-Mass Spectrometer Ages for Late-Glacial Events at Ballybetagh, Ireland

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Les C. Cwynar  and
W. A. Watts
Les C. Cwynar
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada E3B 6E1
W. A. Watts
Affiliation:
Botany Department, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland
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Abstract

Although the character of late-glacial vegetation development in Ireland is well known, the dating is weak for a number of reasons. We report six accelerator-mass spectrometer (AMS) 14C dates of hand-picked organic material from Ballybetagh. Several of the dates are based on terrestrial plant remains, thus eliminating the commonly encountered problem associated with Irish sites of errors due to the hard-water effect. The two most significant indicate that (1) the Rumex-Salix zone, which represents the initial establishment of vegetation following deglaciation, began about 12,600 yr B.P. and (2) the classic Younger Dryas began at 10,600 yr B.P., somewhat younger than the traditionally accepted age of 11,000 yr B.P.

Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 31 , Issue 3 , May 1989 , pp. 377 - 380
Copyright
University of Washington

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