The Swedish Time Scale: A Potential Calibration Tool for the Radiocarbon Time Scale During the Late Weichselian
Issue Date
1995-01-01Keywords
planar bedding structuressedimentary structures
varves
upper Weichselian
Weichselian
calibration
chronology
accelerator mass spectroscopy
mass spectroscopy
spectroscopy
Pleistocene
upper Pleistocene
time scales
Europe
Western Europe
Scandinavia
Sweden
Cenozoic
Quaternary
methods
geochronology
C 14
carbon
isotopes
radioactive isotopes
absolute age
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Wohlfarth, B., Björck, S., & Possnert, G. (1995). The Swedish Time Scale: A potential calibration tool for the radiocarbon time scale during the Late Weichselian. Radiocarbon, 37(2), 347-359.Journal
RadiocarbonAdditional Links
http://radiocarbon.webhost.uits.arizona.edu/Abstract
The Swedish Time Scale (STS) is a ca. 13,300-yr-long varve chronology that has been established for the Swedish east coast from >1000 overlapping clay-varve diagrams. We describe the present state of the STS and illustrate the application of this worldwide unique varve chronology for AMS radiocarbon measurements. The results are compared to other 14C-dated calendar-year chronologies: dendrochronology, laminated lake sediments and U/Th. Our data set agrees with the oldest part of the dendrochronological calibration curve, and with AMS 14C-dated lake lamination data and U/Th on corals down to ca. 12 ka calendar years BP. Further back in time, the AMS-dated part of the STS partly compares well with lake lamination chronologies and shows that the difference between 14C and calendar years decreases rapidly between 12,600 and 12,800 calendar years BP. Such a development seems to contrast with U/Th measurements on corals. We suggest that the cause for the divergence among three supposed calendar-year chronologies lies in the fact that the data points on the marine 14C-U/ Th curve are more widely spaced in time than the tightly grouped set of terrestrial AMS 14C dates, and thus are not able to reflect short-term changes in atmospheric 14C. Therefore, we argue that the use of the pre-Holocene part of the calibration program is premature and inadvisable.Type
Articletext
Language
enISSN
0033-8222ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1017/S0033822200030824