Publication Abstracts

Peteet 1992

Peteet, D., 1992: Major contributions of radiocarbon dating to palynology: Past and future. In Radiocarbon After Four Decades: An Interdisciplinary Perspective. R.E. Taylor, A. Long, and R.S. Kra, Eds., Springer-Verlag, pp. 454-472, doi:10.1007/978-1-4757-4249-7_29.

Before the advent of radiocarbon chronology, Quaternary palynologic records provided a biostratigraphic framework, which was used extensively as a chronostratigraphic guide, with implied synchrony of vegetational and climatic change from site to site. With the establishment of an absolute 14C time scale, pollen zones in various geographic areas proved to be sometimes correlative but often time-transgressive. Absolute chronologies revealed errors in interpretation and promoted exploration of new dynamic patterns and comparisons.

The insights offered to the science of palynology through radiocarbon dating have been striking, and have affected the reconstruction of past vegetation and climate in numerous ways. This chapter briefly describes the early history of the use of palynology as a chronostratigraphic tool, reviews some of the major applications of radiocarbon chronology to palynology over the last 40 years, and highlights some of the problems facing Quaternary paleoecologists as we move into the next decade.

The most eciting recent contribution of 14C dating to palynology arrived with the development of the accelerator mass spectromoter (AMS) technique. This method is important as a chronostratigraphic tool because 1) the actual biological indicators themselves can be dated, 2) it permits the dating of narrower stratigraphic intervals than bulk dates, and 3) dating of terrestrial macrofossils allows the dating of lakes with "hardwater" 14C errors. Continues application of AMS 14C dating to current and future palynological problems will ensure major contributions to this field.

Export citation: [ BibTeX ] [ RIS ]

BibTeX Citation

@inbook{pe01600j,
  author={Peteet, D.},
  editor={Taylor, R. E. and Long, A. and Kra, R. S.},
  title={Major contributions of radiocarbon dating to palynology: Past and future},
  booktitle={Radiocarbon After Four Decades: An Interdisciplinary Perspective},
  year={1992},
  pages={454--472},
  publisher={Springer-Verlag},
  doi={10.1007/978-1-4757-4249-7_29},
}

[ Close ]

RIS Citation

TY  - CHAP
ID  - pe01600j
AU  - Peteet, D.
ED  - Taylor, R. E.
ED  - Long, A.
ED  - Kra, R. S.
PY  - 1992
TI  - Major contributions of radiocarbon dating to palynology: Past and future
BT  - Radiocarbon After Four Decades: An Interdisciplinary Perspective
SP  - 454
EP  - 472
DO  - 10.1007/978-1-4757-4249-7_29
PB  - Springer-Verlag
ER  -

[ Close ]

• Return to 1992 Publications

• Return to Publications Homepage