The marine reservoir age of Greenland coastal waters

Abstract 14 C age of a marine sample and that of its contemporaneous atmosphere is dependent on several factors (among others, ocean circulation, water mass distribution, terrestrial runoff, upwelling, and sea-ice cover) and is therefore spatially heterogeneous. Anthropogenic influence on the global isotopic carbon system, mostly through atmospheric nuclear tests, has complicated the determination of the regional reservoir age correction Δ R, which therefore can only be measured in historic samples of known age. In this study we expand on the few existing measurements of Δ R for the coastal waters around Greenland, by adding 92 new radiocarbon dates on mollusks from museum collections. All studied mollusk samples were collected during historic expeditions of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and besides coastal sites around Greenland, the new measurements also include localities from the western Labrador Sea, Baffin Bay, and the Iceland Sea. Together with existing measurements, the new results are used to calculate average Δ R values for different regions around Greenland, all in relation to Marine20, the most recent marine radiocarbon calibration curve. To support further discussions and comparison with previous datasets, we use the term Δ R 13 Δ R for each case individually, based on the exact location including water depth. Despite this significant expansion of the regional reservoir age database around Greenland, data from the northern coast, directly bordering the Arctic Ocean, remain missing.

Object Details

• Location: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Extent: Online-Ressource
• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: The marine reservoir age of Greenland coastal waters ; volume:5 ; number:2 ; year:2023 ; pages:451-465 ; extent:15 ; Geochronology ; 5, Heft 2 (2023), 451-465 (gesamt 15)

Contributors, Places and Time

• Creator: Pearce, Christof ; Özdemir, Karen Søby ; Forchhammer Mathiasen, Ronja ; Detlef, Henrieka ; Olsen, Jesper

Further information

• DOI: 10.5194/gchron-5-451-2023
• URN: urn:nbn:de:101:1-2023122103172011466998
• Rights: Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Last update: 15.08.2025, 7:27 AM CEST