Variation in Radiocarbon Ages of Soil Organic Matter Fractions from Late Quaternary Buried Soils

摘要: Radiocarbon dating of three organic matter fractions (total, humic acid, and residue) isolated from late Quaternary buried soils the central Great Plains reveals that there often are considerable differences among, but no consistent order to, ages fractions. For Holocene soils, residue fraction or total generally produces oldest age; for Pleistocene however, was consistently oldest. The absence a sequence is attributed to postburial contamination soils. When bulk samples same soil were split sent two laboratories, different radiocarbon usually obtained. variability in confirms caution should be taken when using obtained laboratories make regional stratigraphic correlations.