Further Analysis of the International Intercomparison Study (ICS)

Abstract

The major findings of the Intercomparison Study (ICS) have already been published (Scott, Long & Kra 1990), but a number of questions remain unresolved. We address here some issues of user and technical relevance, which include; 1) further investigation of the quoted errors and their relation to the perceived precision and accuracy, which is of interest to users of 14C dates; 2) the analysis of the known-age wood samples provided in Stages 2 and 3 of the ICS; 3) an investigation of the corresponding b13C data base, of more technical relevance to laboratories.