Marine Reservoir Ages in Northern Senegal and Mauritania Coastal Waters

Abstract

In order to estimate the modern reservoir age of the seawater (R) and the corresponding local offset from the global marine radiocarbon calibration curve (Delta-R) for coastal sites of Senegal and Mauritania, we analyzed pre-bomb mollusk shells collected between AD 1837 and 1945. In total, 27 shell samples were measured, including 19 from Senegal and 8 from Mauritania. The results for Senegal for the weighted mean of R is 511 +/- 50 BP and Delta-R is 176 +/- 15 BP; for Mauritania, R is 421 +/- 15 BP and Delta-R is 71 +/- 13 BP. While these values indicate a significant difference from the global mean value of Delta-R for Senegal, the R value for coastal Mauritania is close to the average ocean value R of ~400 yr (Stuiver and Braziunas 1993).