Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-nr4z6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-03T10:56:03.142Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Comparison of Radiocarbon and Uranium-Series Dating Methods as Applied to Marine Apatite

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

William C. Burnett
Affiliation:
Department of Oceanography, Florida State University Tallahassee, Florida 32306 USA
Kee Hyun Kim
Affiliation:
Department of Oceanography, Florida State University Tallahassee, Florida 32306 USA

Abstract

A comparison of uranium-series geochronology and radiocarbon dating, the first systematic test of its kind applied to authigenic marine apatite, has been made for nine seafloor phosphate nodules sampled from the Peruvian and Chilean shelves. Radiocarbon ages agree well with the 230Th ages for all six samples with 230Th ages younger than the practical dating limit of the 14C technique for marine samples. Two of three “old” samples contain no significant 14C activities, as expected. However, one sample with a high concentration of phosphate pellets contains more than 30% of the modern 14C activity. The discrepancy between the 14C and U-series age for this sample is thought to be due to post-depositional adsorption of the particle-reactive elements thorium and protactinium onto pellet surfaces.

Type
Original Articles
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aharon, P. Veeh, H. H. 1984 Isotope studies of insular phosphates explain atoll phosphatization. Nature (London), 39 614617 Google Scholar
Baturin, G. N. 1982 Phosphorities on the Sea Floor, Elsevier, Amsterdam Google Scholar
Baturin, G. N. Merkulova, K. L. Chalov, P. I. 1972 Radiometric evidence for recent formation of phosphatic nodules in marine shelf sediments. Marine Geology, 13 M37M41 Google Scholar
Broecker, W. S. 1963 A preliminary evaluation of uranium series inequilibrium as a tool for absolute age measurement on marine carbonates. Journal of Geophysical Research, 68 28172834 Google Scholar
Burnett, W. C. 1977 Geochemistry and origin of phosphorite deposits from off the coast of Peru and Chile. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 88 813823 Google Scholar
Burnett, W. C. Beers, M. J. Roe, K. K. 1982 Growth rates of phosphate nodules from the continental margin off Peru. Science, 215 16161618 Google Scholar
Burnett, W. C. Roe, K. K. Piper, D. Z. 1983 Upwelling and phosphorite formation in the ocean Suess, E. Thiede, J. Coastal Upwelling, Plenum, New York 377397 Part AGoogle Scholar
Burnett, W. C. Veeh, H. H. 1977 Uraniumseries disequilibrium studies in Phosphorite nodules from the west coast of South America. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 41 755764 Google Scholar
Cunningham, R. 1980 Organic-Inorganic Interactions of Marine Humic Substances from Carbonate Sediments: Metal Binding and Adsorption Studies. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Texas, Dallas Google Scholar
Cunningham, R. Burnett, W. C. 1985 Amino acid biogeochemistry of offshore Peru/Chile phosphorites. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 49 14131419 Google Scholar
D'. Anglejan, B. F. 1967 Origin of marine phosphorites off Baja California, Mexico. Marine Geology, 5 1544 Google Scholar
DeNiro, M. J. Epstein, S. 1978 Carbon isotopic evidence for different feeding patterns in two hyrax species occupying the same habitat. Science, 201 906908 Google Scholar
Gulbrandsen, R. A. 1970 Relation of Carbon Dioxide Content of Apatite of the Phosphoria Formation to Regional Facies, B9B13 U.S. Geological Survey Prof. paper 700-BGoogle Scholar
Hassan, A. A. Termine, J. D. Haynes, C. V. 1977 Mineralogical studies on bone apatite and their implications for radiocarbon dating. Radiocarbon, 19 364374 Google Scholar
Kim, K. H. Burnett, W. C. 1983 Gamma-ray spectrometric determination of uranium-series nuclides in marine phosphorites. Analytical Chemistry, 55 17961800 Google Scholar
Kim, K. H. Burnett, W. C. 1985 226Ra in marine phosphate nodules from the Peru/Chile seafloor. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 49 10731081 Google Scholar
Kim, K. H. Burnett, W. C. 1986a Uraniumseries growth history of a Quaternary phosphatic crust from the Peruvian continental margin. Isotope Geoscience, in pressGoogle Scholar
Kim, K. H. Burnett, W. C. 1986b Accumulation and biological mixing of Peru margin sediments. Marine Geology, in pressGoogle Scholar
Kolodny, Y. Kaplan, I. R. 1970 Uranium isotopes in sea floor phosphorites. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 34 3 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krueger, H. W. Weeks, C. F. 1965 Geochron Laboratories, Inc., radiocarbon measurements, I. Radiocarbon, 7 4753 Google Scholar
Ku, T.-L. 1968 Protactinium-231 method of dating coral from Barbados Island. Journal of Geophysical Research, 73 22712276 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Land, L. S. Lundelius, E. L. Valastro, S. 1980 Isotopic ecology of deer bones. Paleogeography, Paleoclimatology, Paleoecology, 32 143151 Google Scholar
McArthur, J. M. Coleman, M. L. Bremmer, J. M. 1980 Carbon and oxygen isotopic composition of structural carbonate in sedimentary francolite. Journal of the Geological Society of London, 137 669673 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McClellan, G. H. Lehr, J. R. 1969 Crystal chemical investigation of natural apatites. American Mineralogist, 54 13741391 Google Scholar
O'Brien, G. W. Veeh, H. H. 1980 Holocene phosphorites on the east Australian continental margin. Nature (London), 288 690692 Google Scholar
Robinson, S. W. 1981 Natural and man-made radiocarbon as a tracer for coastal upwelling process Richards, F. R. Coastal Upwelling, Amer. Geophys. Union, Washington, D.C 298302 Google Scholar
Roe, K. K. Burnett, W. C. Kim, K. H. Beers, M. J. 1982 Excess protactinium in phosphate nodules from a coastal upwelling zone. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 60 3946 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schoeninger, J. M. DeNiro, M. J. 1982 Carbon isotope ratios of apatite from fossil bone cannot be used to reconstruct diets of animals. Nature (London), 29 577578 Google Scholar
Stuiver, M. Polach, H. A. 1977 Discussion: Reporting of 14C data. Radiocarbon, 19 355363 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sullivan, C. H. Krueger, H. W. 1983 Carbon isotope ratios of bone apatite and animal diet reconstruction. Nature (London), 301 177178 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vathakanon, C. 1985 Pelletal Phosphorite Precipitation in Peru Shelf Mud. Unpublished M.S. thesis, Florida State University Google Scholar
Veeh, H. H. 1982 Concordant 230Th and 230Pa ages of margin phosphorites. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 57 278284 Google Scholar
Veeh, H. H. Burnett, W. C. 1982 Carbonate and phosphate sediments Ivanovich, M. Harmon, R. S. Uranium Series Disequilibrium, Applications to Environmental Problems, Oxford Univ. Press (Clarendon), London/New York 459496 Google Scholar
Veeh, H. H. Burnett, W. C. Soutar, A. 1973 Contemporary phosphorites on the continental margins of Peru. Science, 181 844845 Google Scholar