Radiocarbon sampling efforts for high-precision lake sediment chronologies

Rey, Fabian; Mustaphi, Colin J. Courtney; Szidat, Sönke; Gobet, Erika; Heiri, Oliver; Tinner, Willy (2023). Radiocarbon sampling efforts for high-precision lake sediment chronologies. The Holocene, 33(5), pp. 581-591. Sage 10.1177/09596836231151835

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High-resolution chronologies with the best time control are key for comparing palaeoenvironmental studies with independent high-precision historical, archaeological or climatic data. Precise chronologies are also essential for inter-site comparisons of palaeo records at decadal to centennial time scales. We present an updated sediment chronology from Burgäschisee, a small and well-studied lake in the Swiss lowlands. The new age-depth relationship was generated using a large number of new radiocarbon samples of terrestrial plant remains extracted from the Burgäschisee sediments and Bayesian age-depth modelling. The results reveal 2σ uncertainties of only ±19 years for the entire record covering the Early Bronze Age (3800 cal. BP) to the Early Middle Ages (1150 cal. BP). The differences between four age-depth modelling techniques (Bayesian and non-Bayesian) are minor (around 25 years) and remain stable with lower radiocarbon date availability. The maximum age offset between the preliminary previously published and the refined chronology from Burgäschisee is 225 years. Our results demonstrate the importance of a rigorous subsampling strategy that includes a careful selection of the best terrestrial plant material and avoiding radiocarbon calibration plateaus whenever possible. The new chronology from Burgäschisee now allows a more accurate site-to-site comparison with archaeological, historical and other palaeoecological evidence from the region.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

10 Strategic Research Centers > Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research (OCCR)
08 Faculty of Science > Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences (DCBP)
08 Faculty of Science > Department of Biology > Institute of Plant Sciences (IPS) > Palaeoecology
08 Faculty of Science > Department of Biology > Institute of Plant Sciences (IPS)

UniBE Contributor:

Rey, Fabian, Szidat, Sönke, Gobet, Erika, Heiri, Oliver, Tinner, Willy

Subjects:

500 Science > 580 Plants (Botany)
500 Science > 560 Fossils & prehistoric life
500 Science > 540 Chemistry
500 Science > 570 Life sciences; biology

ISSN:

0959-6836

Publisher:

Sage

Language:

English

Submitter:

Peter Alfred von Ballmoos-Haas

Date Deposited:

01 Jul 2024 09:08

Last Modified:

01 Jul 2024 09:08

Publisher DOI:

10.1177/09596836231151835

BORIS DOI:

10.48350/198326

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/198326

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