Seasonal variations in the 14C Content of Tree Rings: Influences on Radiocarbon Calibration and Single-Year Curve Construction
Abstract
To examine the implications of seasonality for the construction of a single-year calibration curve we obtained separate dates on earlywood and latewood fractions of tree rings originating from England and dendrochronologically dated between AD 1352 and AD 1442. These demonstrated that an average difference of 26±15 yr exists between earlywood and latewood and that this difference can be as high as 33±19 yr during periods of high radiocarbon (14 C) production. It is argued that this difference is due to both changes in atmospheric 14 C and the incorporation of stored carbohydrates into earlywood. Based on this, it was possible to separate an atmospheric and physiological contribution to this difference. Our modeling indicates that storage can produce a difference of up to 10 years between earlywood and latewood. This suggests that full-year tree rings from deciduous trees may be less appropriate for the construction of a single-year calibration curve and that specific atmospheric events can be more easily detected by measuring only latewood.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Apparent seasonal 14C offsets appear associated with changes in 14C production and thus likely with variations in solar activity and climate (and ocean systems).
“and appear associated with changes in 14C production and thus likely with variations in solar activity and climate (and ocean systems), and potentially also, therefore, changes in percentage contributions of early and late wood to given tree-rings5,8–10,13.”
From Radiocarbon offsets and old world chronology as relevant to Mesopotamia, Egypt, Anatolia and Thera (Santorini) (2020) · cites this paper as [9]
There are indications of small, fluctuating 14C offsets that may affect accurate 14C-based chronology in some mid-latitude regions at high resolution.
“However, there are indications of small, fluctuating, 14C offsets which, at high-resolution, may affect accurate 14C-based chronology in some mid-latitude regions5–10.”
From Radiocarbon offsets and old world chronology as relevant to Mesopotamia, Egypt, Anatolia and Thera (Santorini) (2020) · cites this paper as [9]
Apparent seasonal 14C offsets are potentially associated with changes in percentage contributions of early and late wood to given tree-rings.
“and potentially also, therefore, changes in percentage contributions of early and late wood to given tree-rings5,8–10,13.”
From Radiocarbon offsets and old world chronology as relevant to Mesopotamia, Egypt, Anatolia and Thera (Santorini) (2020) · cites this paper as [9]
Where present, apparent seasonal 14C offsets fluctuate over time.
“Moreover, where present, apparent seasonal 14C offsets fluctuate over time, and appear associated with changes in 14C production and thus likely with variations in solar activity and climate (and ocean systems), and potentially also, therefore, changes in percentage contributions of early and late wood to given tree-rings5,8–10,13.”
From Radiocarbon offsets and old world chronology as relevant to Mesopotamia, Egypt, Anatolia and Thera (Santorini) (2020) · cites this paper as [9]
The intra-annual cycle of atmospheric 14C levels has a Northern Hemisphere winter low and a summer high.
“Among explanations for offsets between 14C measurements, the least recognized is the role of the intra-annual cycle of atmospheric 14C levels, with an NH winter low and a summer high5,6,8–10,14.”
From Radiocarbon offsets and old world chronology as relevant to Mesopotamia, Egypt, Anatolia and Thera (Santorini) (2020) · cites this paper as [9]
There is a potential for different aspects of the annual 14C cycle to be represented, especially as measurement of 14C increases in accuracy and precision.
“Hence, there is a potential for different aspects of the annual 14C cycle to be represented, especially as measurement of 14C increases in accuracy and precision6–10.”
From Radiocarbon offsets and old world chronology as relevant to Mesopotamia, Egypt, Anatolia and Thera (Santorini) (2020) · cites this paper as [9]
These other likely negative offset periods are periods where there is a sustained slope in the IntCal record, indicating increased 14C production and likely lower solar irradiance, and steadily declining 14C values.
“Again, these are periods where there is a sustained slope in the IntCal record [indicating increased 14C production and, likely, lower solar irradiance (6, 15, 26)] and steadily declining 14C values.”
From Mediterranean radiocarbon offsets and calendar dates for prehistory (2020) · cites this paper as [26]
The positive offsets are typically in the range found previously for substantive seasonal or growing season differences: ~2 to 4‰ (that is, ~16 to 32 14C years).
“The offsets are typically in the range found previously for substantive seasonal or growing season differences: ~2 to 4‰ (that is, ~16 to 32 14C years) (15–18, 23, 26).”
From Mediterranean radiocarbon offsets and calendar dates for prehistory (2020) · cites this paper as [26]
Cites
Radiocarbon Dating to a Single Year by Means of Rapid Atmospheric <sup>14</sup>C Changes
Wacker, L., Güttler, D., Goll, J., Hurni, J. P., Synal, H.-A., & Walti, N. (2014) · Radiocarbon · doi:10.2458/56.17634 · Cited by 90 · see citing works
Kromer, B., Manning, S. W., Kuniholm, P. I., Newton, M. W., Spurk, M., & Levin, I. (2001) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1066114 · Cited by 77 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
IntCal20 Tree Rings: An Archaeological Swot Analysis
Bayliss, A., Marshall, P., Dee, M. W., Friedrich, M., Heaton, T. J., & Wacker, L. (2020) · Radiocarbon · doi:10.1017/rdc.2020.77 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Manning, S. W., Wacker, L., Büntgen, U., Bronk Ramsey, C., Dee, M. W., Kromer, B., Lorentzen, B., & Tegel, W. (2020) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-020-69287-2 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
Mediterranean radiocarbon offsets and calendar dates for prehistory
Manning, S. W., Kromer, B., Cremaschi, M., Dee, M. W., Friedrich, R., Griggs, C., & Hadden, C. S. (2020) · Science Advances · doi:10.1126/sciadv.aaz1096 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
The 1953–1965 rise in Atmospheric bomb <sup>14</sup>C in Central Norway
Svarva, H., Grootes, P., Seiler, M., Stene, S., Thun, T., Værnes, E., & Nadeau, M.-J. (2019) · Radiocarbon · doi:10.1017/rdc.2019.98 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
- Authors
- McDonald, L., Chivall, D., Miles, D., & Bronk Ramsey, C.
- Affiliations
- University of Oxford (GB)
- Venue
- Radiocarbon
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 2018-07-26
- Volume
- 61
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 185-194
- ISSN
- 0033-8222 (ISSN-L)
- 1945-5755
- OpenAlex
- W2883802240
- Cited by
- 24
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 2 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 4
- FWCI
- 2.21
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Radiocarbon (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science Council
- Natural Environment Research Council
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Archaeology and ancient environmental studies
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Atmospheric Science › Tree-ring climate responses
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Atmospheric Science › Geology and Paleoclimatology Research
- Keywords
- tree-ring radiocarbon, seasonal variation, earlywood, latewood, radiocarbon calibration, atmospheric 14C, carbohydrate reserves, deciduous trees, radiocarbon production, dendrochronology
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
