Radiocarbon ages of individual fatty acids from Ross Sea sediments

The researchers have measured the radiocarbon contents of individual solvent-extractable short-chain (C14, C16, and C18) fatty acids isolated from Ross Sea surface sediments. The corresponding 14C ages are equivalent to that of the post-bomb DIC reservoir. Moreover, molecular 14C variations in surfacial (upper 15cm) sediments indicate that these compounds may prove useful for reconstructing chronologies of Antarctic margin sediments containing uncertain (and potentially variable) quantities of relict organic carbon. A preliminary molecular 14C chronology suggests that the accumulation rate of relict organic matter has not changed during the last 500 14C yr. The focus of this study is to determine the validity of compound-specific radiocarbon analysis as a technique for reconstructing chronologies of Antarctic margin sediments.