Calcium-41 concentration in terrestrial materials: Prospects for dating of pleistocene samples

W. Henning*, W. A. Bell, P. J. Billquist, B. G. Glagola, W. Kutschera, Z. Liu, H. F. Lucas, M. Paul, K. E. Rehm, J. L. Yntema

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

55 Scopus citations

Abstract

Calcium-41 has been suggested as a new tool for radiometric dating in the range of 105 to 106 years. The concentration of cosmogenic calcium-41 in natural samples of terrestrial origin has now been determined by high-sensitivity accelerator mass spectrometry after pre-enrichment in calcium-41 with an isotope separator. Ratios of calcium-41 to total calcium between 2 x 10-14 and 3 x 10-15 were measured for samples of contemporary bovine bone and from limestone deposits. Some prospects for the use of calcium-41 for dating Middle and Late Pleistocene bone and for other geophysical applications are discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)725-727
Number of pages3
JournalScience
Volume236
Issue number4802
DOIs
StatePublished - 1987

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