Florida Bay Physical Data

The dataset contains the core number, depth (cm), wet bulk density, dry bulk density, accumulated dry bulk density, dry bulk fines, total % H2O content, % insoluble residue, % loss on ignition, coarse (% dry wt.) > 0.062 mm, fines (% dry wt.) < 0.062 mm, and total Pb-210 activity (dpm/g and error).

The use of radioactive isotopes is founded on the known physical property of radioactive material, the half-life. A half-life of an isotope is the amount of time it takes for half of a given number of atoms to "decay" to another element. The age of objects that contain radioactive isotopes with known half-lives can be calculated by determining the percent of the remaining radioactive material. To use this method successfully certain other prerequisites must be met. These are: 1. the chemistry of the nuclide (element) is known; 2. once the nuclide is incorporated into the substrate the only change is radioactive decay, and 3. in order to be useful, it is relatively easy to measure.