========================================================================= Date: Sun, 7 Dec 1997 13:42:48 -0700 Reply-To: Radiocarbon Mailing List Sender: Radiocarbon Mailing List From: Alwynne Beaudoin Subject: AMS dating of pollen? Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Greetings! I have a contact who needs to know about AMS dating of pollen. This person does not have access to a laboratory and needs to find an AMS lab that can take a raw sediment sample, extract the pollen from it, and AMS date it (previous tests show that the sediment does contain pollen). I have read several papers on this topic but I have seen nothing recently. I would be grateful if members of this list can inform me whether there are any AMS labs offering this service, including sample preparation, and provide details of cost, turn around time etc. If any readers have tried AMS dating pollen (either as a member of an AMS lab or as a user of AMS dates), I would be grateful for any comments about its usefulness, reliability etc. How useful and reliable are the results? Is this an avenue that is worth pursuing in sediments in which there is no other datable material? The source of pollen in such organic-poor sediments must be a concern. I am also curious about the sample preparation - how exactly is the pollen concentrated from the sediment? Presumably standard pollen preparation techniques (which include the use of organic liquids in acetolysis and sample dehydration) can't be used. Is it customary to date only one taxon rather than the entire concentrate? If so, how is that taxon isolated from the concentrate? Thank you in advance for any comments. Best regards, Alwynne Alwynne B. Beaudoin PhD, Archaeological Survey Provincial Museum of Alberta, 12845-102nd Avenue Edmonton, Alberta, T5N 0M6, Canada WebEditor for PMA WWW presentation at http://www.pma.edmonton.ab.ca ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 18 Dec 1997 11:29:39 -0700 Reply-To: dsew@packrat.aml.arizona.edu Sender: Radiocarbon Mailing List From: David Sewell Subject: Lab Intercomparison proposal preprint now online Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii At the 16th International Radiocarbon Conference in Groningen, Marian Scott presented a proposal for a new intercomparison exercise for 14C laboratories, similar to past exercises but adding new protocols to distinguish between the needs of radiometric and AMS labs. This proposal has now been written up, but it unfortunately just missed the deadline for the next issue of RADIOCARBON (which is scheduled to ship the first week of January). It will be published in Volume 39, Number 3, but in the meantime, since the authors are hoping for feedback from the radiocarbon community. we have put a preprint version on our WWW server. There are two versions, PDF (requires Adobe Acrobat reader or equivalent) and HTML (readable by any WWW browser): PDF: http://packrat.aml.arizona.edu/Journal/v39n3/intercomp.pdf HTML: http://packrat.aml.arizona.edu/Journal/v39n3/intercomp.html If you are unable to access either type of document, reply to me (dsew@packrat.aml.arizona.edu) to request a text version by email. Please do address your comments and/or offers of participation to Marian Scott (her contact information is contained in the preprint.) David Sewell -- David Sewell, Acting Managing Editor dsew@packrat.aml.arizona.edu RADIOCARBON: An International Journal of Cosmogenic Isotope Research Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona 4717 E. Ft. Lowell Rd., Tucson, Arizona 85712 USA Telephone: +1 520 881 0857 Fax: +1 520 881 0554 WWW server: http://packrat.aml.arizona.edu/ ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 22 Dec 1997 19:37:42 -0700 Reply-To: Radiocarbon Mailing List Sender: Radiocarbon Mailing List From: Alwynne Beaudoin Subject: Many thanks! Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Greetings! I'd just like to thank the many people who responded to my request for information on AMS dating of pollen. I now have plenty of information to mull over, some interesting comments, and several leads on labs that will undertake this work. My best regards to you all for the Festive Season and the New Year, Alwynne Alwynne B. Beaudoin PhD, Archaeological Survey, Provincial Museum of Alberta 12845-102nd Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta, T5N 0M6, Canada E-mail: abeaudoi@gpu.srv.ualberta.ca