Email the author 
Open Access
Subscription Access
Separation and 14C Dating of Pure Pollen from Lake Sediments: Nanofossil AMS Dating
Abstract
We have developed and tested a practical device for manually separating pollen from pollen concentrates
in sufficient quantity for AMS "C dating. It is a combination of standard, commercially available equipment handled in a clean room by an individual trained to recognize pollen. A typical example requires about 15-20 h of hand-picking under the microscope. We show the usefulness of this procedure with results on a mid-Holocene segment from a core from Mono Lake. Sediments from this hardwater lake contain pollen and finely disseminated organic matter, but no macrofossils. The pollen dated ca. 1000 yr younger than the bulk sediment. The sediment "date" is most likely affected by incorporation of
limestone-derived carbon, and is erroneously old.
in sufficient quantity for AMS "C dating. It is a combination of standard, commercially available equipment handled in a clean room by an individual trained to recognize pollen. A typical example requires about 15-20 h of hand-picking under the microscope. We show the usefulness of this procedure with results on a mid-Holocene segment from a core from Mono Lake. Sediments from this hardwater lake contain pollen and finely disseminated organic matter, but no macrofossils. The pollen dated ca. 1000 yr younger than the bulk sediment. The sediment "date" is most likely affected by incorporation of
limestone-derived carbon, and is erroneously old.