title: Changes in the radiocarbon reservoir age in Lake Xingyun, Southwestern China during the Holocene.
abstract: Chronology is a necessary component of paleoclimatology. Radiocarbon dating plays a central role in determining the ages of geological samples younger than ca. 50 ka BP. However, there are many limitations for its application, including radiocarbon reservoir effects, which may cause incorrect chronology in many lakes. Here we demonstrate temporal changes in the radiocarbon reservoir age of Lake Xingyun, Southwestern China, where radiocarbon ages based on bulk organic matter have been reported in previous studies. Our new radiocarbon ages, determined from terrestrial plant macrofossils suggest that the radiocarbon reservoir age changed from 960 to 2200 years during the last 8500 cal a BP years. These changes to the reservoir effect were associated with inputs from either pre-aged organic carbon or 14C-depleted hard water in Lake Xingyun caused by hydrological change in the lake system. The radiocarbon reservoir age may in return be a good indicator for the carbon source in lake ecosystems and depositional environment.
authors: MOE Key Laboratory of Western China's Environmental Systems, Collaborative Innovation Centre for Arid Environments and Climate Change, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.
authors: Aifeng
authors: A
authors: Zhou
authors: Department of Earth Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China; Department of Earth Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China.
authors: Yuxin
authors: Y
authors: He
authors: MOE Key Laboratory of Western China's Environmental Systems, Collaborative Innovation Centre for Arid Environments and Climate Change, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.
authors: Duo
authors: D
authors: Wu
authors: MOE Key Laboratory of Western China's Environmental Systems, Collaborative Innovation Centre for Arid Environments and Climate Change, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.
authors: Xiaonan
authors: X
authors: Zhang
authors: MOE Key Laboratory of Western China's Environmental Systems, Collaborative Innovation Centre for Arid Environments and Climate Change, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.
authors: Can
authors: C
authors: Zhang
authors: Department of Earth Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China.
authors: Zhonghui
authors: Z
authors: Liu
authors: Qinghai-Institute of Salt Lakes, China Academy of Sciences, Xining, China.
authors: Junqing
authors: J
authors: Yu
mesh_terms: D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes / Q000737:chemistry; D002681:China; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry*; D060106:Lakes / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D055110:Radiometric Dating / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes