Radiocarbon dating of a recent high latitude peat profile: Stor Amyran, northern Sweden

• Main Authors: Oldfield, F., Thompson, R., Crooks, P. R. J., Gedye, S. J., Hall, Valerie A., Harkness, D. D., Housley, R. A., McCormac, F. G., Newton, A. J., Pilcher, J. R., Renberg, I., Richardson, N.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 1997
• Subjects: Chronology; Climate change; High latitudes; High-precision dating; Late Holocene; Mass balance; Peat; Radiocarbon; Sweden; Tephra; Faculty of Science\Geography; Research Groups and Centres\Geography\Centre for Quaternary Research; Askja; Northern Sweden
• Online Access: https://repository.royalholloway.ac.uk/items/1e1b6574-16b8-c084-0503-67f868454924/1/

The value of both high-precision (HP) and AMS 14C determinations in the fine-resolution dating of recent peat at Stor Amyran, near Umea, northern Sweden has been explored. A detailed chronology of accumulation, based on 14C, an occurrence of the Askja AD 1875 tephra and 241Am measurements has been derived for the last 700 years. This shows significant changes in the mass balance of the peat profile, with minimum rates of net carbon sequestration overlapping with the period of minimum spring and summer temperature documented by published tree-ring evidence. The paper presents a methodology for calculating empirically past changes in the rate of net carbon sequestration in boreal peatlands and for exploring the effects of climatic variations (and possible future global warming) on these rates.