Marine reservoir corrections : St. Helena, South Atlantic Ocean

• Main Authors: Lewis, Colin A, Reimer, P J, Reimer, R W
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2008
• Subjects: St. Helena; South Atlantic Ocean
• Online Access: http://vital.seals.ac.za:8080/vital/access/manager/Repository/vital:6701; http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006737

We present the first marine reservoir age and ∆R determination for the island of St. Helena using marine mollusk radiocarbon dates obtained from an historical context of known age. This represents the first marine reservoir age and ∆R determination in the southern Atlantic Ocean within thousands of kilometers of the island. The depletion of 14C in the shells indicates a rather larger reservoir age for that portion of the surface Atlantic than models indicate. The implication is that upwelling old water along the Namibian coast is transported for a considerable distance, although it is likely to be variable on a decadal timescale. An artilleryman’s button, together with other artifacts found in a midden, demonstrate association of the mollusk shells with a narrow historic period of AD 1815–1835.