Reporting ¹⁴C Activities and Concentrations

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Three modes of reporting 14C activities are in use, in part analogous to the internationally accepted (IAEA) conventions for stable isotopes: (1) absolute activity, the specific activity of 14C or the activity per gram of carbon; (2) activity ratio, the ratio between the absolute activities of a sample and the standard; and (3) relative activity, the difference between the absolute activities of a sample and standard material, relative to the absolute standard activity. The basic definitions originate from decisions made by the radiocarbon community at its past conferences. Stuiver and Polach (1977) reviewed and sought to specify the definitions and conventions. Several colleagues, however, have experienced inadequacies and pitfalls in the definitions and use of symbols. Furthermore, the latter have to be slightly amended because of the use of modern measuring techniques. This paper is intended to provide a consistent set of reporting symbols and definitions, illustrated by some practical examples.

Nanodiamonds and wildfire evidence in the Usselo horizon postdate the Allerød-Younger Dryas boundary

“…A total of 14 individual charcoal particles, >2 mm, from different samples (Table 1) were handpicked and prepared for AMS radiocarbon dating using standard acid-alkali-acid treatment and ultrasonic cleaning (54) by which only charcoal structures remained and soot disaggregated. Radiocarbon ages were measured at the Groningen AMS facility (55) and reported in conventional radiocarbon years (56). Ages were calibrated to calendar years using the IntCal09 calibration curve (34) and the OxCalv4.1 calibration software (27).…”

A Comparison of Radiocarbon and Archaeomagnetic Dating from an Archaeological Site in Spain

“…Calculation of the 14 C ages was done according to Stuiver and Polach (1977). Formulas presented in Mook and Plicht (1999) were used for age correction and correction for isotopic composition.…”

Determination of biogenic component in liquid fuels by the 14C direct LSC method by using quenching properties of modern liquids for calibration

“…Results of measurement of 14 C activity are presented as relative specific 14 C activity, a 14 C, expressed in percent of modern carbon (pMC), where 100 pMC is equivalent to the specific activity of 226 Bq/kgC (Mook and van der Plicht, 1999). In further text we use the term " 14 C activity" for a 14 C. (Recently, it has been proposed to use a dimensionless quantity F, fraction of modern carbon (van der Plicht and Hogg, 2006), which is equivalent to a 14 C, with the difference that F is dimensionless, and a 14 C is expressed as percentage.…”