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14C Wiggle-Match Dating in High-Resolution Sea-Level Research

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

O van de Plassche
Affiliation:
Faculty of Earth Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Email: plao@geo.vu.nl.
R J Edwards
Affiliation:
Faculty of Earth Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Email: plao@geo.vu.nl.
K van der Borg
Affiliation:
R J Van de Graaff Laboratory, Universiteit Utrecht, P.O. Box 80.000, 3508 TA, Utrecht, the Netherlands
A F M de Jong
Affiliation:
R J Van de Graaff Laboratory, Universiteit Utrecht, P.O. Box 80.000, 3508 TA, Utrecht, the Netherlands
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Abstract

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Comparison of two sets of marsh-accumulation records from each of three Connecticut (USA) salt marshes, one based on individually calibrated dates and the other on wiggle-match dating of the same series of dates, shows that wiggle-match dating results in more precise and objective reconstructions of longer-term (102–103 yr) changes in accumulation rate. On (sub-)century time scales, wiggle-match dating can reveal steps in the calibrated marsh-accumulation envelope as artefacts of the calibration curve, but may also leave real short-term changes in accumulation rate undetected. Wiggle-matches are non-unique, being dependent on the number, quality and distribution of radiocarbon dates in a sequence, how a series of dates is subdivided into groups (representing intervals of uniform accumulation rate), and what is considered a “best match”. Samples from the studied salt-marsh deposits required no correction for reservoir effects prior to calibration.

Type
II. Getting More from the Data
Copyright
Copyright © The Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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