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Bomb radiocarbon in metabolically inert tissues from terrestrial and marine mammals
Author(s) -
Bada Jeffrey L.,
Vrolijk Christian D.,
Brown Stephen,
Druffel Ellen R. M.,
Hedges Robert E. M.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/gl014i010p01065
Subject(s) - radiocarbon dating , accelerator mass spectrometry , arctic , geology , oceanography , paleontology
We report here radiocarbon measurements of monkey eye lens nucleus proteins and a narwhal tusk, biological tissues which have sampled the bomb radiocarbon signal in different ways. The results confirm the metabolic inertness of eye lens nucleus proteins and demonstrate the feasibility of measuring radiocarbon in small samples of biological tissue using accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). The narwhal tusk provides a unique record of the radiocarbon activity in Arctic Ocean waters over most of the 20th century.