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Radiocarbon Dating
Archeologists use a number of methods to date the objects they find. Inscriptions etched in stone, pottery markings, and historical documents can all offer clues to an artifact’s age. But what happens when there’s no written information available and the design of an object can’t peg it to a particular time? If the artifact is organic—like wood or bone—researchers can turn to a method called radiocarbon dating. It’s a process that dates an object by analyzing the different forms of carbon it contains. In this interactive, learn how radiocarbon dating works, what it takes to determine a date in the lab, and why it’s challenging to pinpoint a date precisely.—David Levin
NOSAMS’ clients Jeff Donnelly and Andrea Hawkes of prehistoric hurricanes shows the intensity and frequency of hurricanes the U.S. could experience could intensify as ocean temperatures increase with climate change. Read More…
This article from phys.org highlights MIT/WHOI joint program student Li Ling Hamady student uses radiocarbon dating in to show Great White sharks grow much slower and live significantly longer than previously thought.
A joint product of Woods Hole Sea Grant and Cape Cod Cooperative Extension, “What is that sticking out of the sand?” by Christopher Maio and Greg Berman describes “new” discoveries exposed thanks to coastal storms and erosion. Members of NOSAMS were able to be a part of this project.
Check out this great article from Astrobiology Magazine featuring David Griffith (with support from NOSAMS) conducts a study to measure carbon at various depths in the Arctic Ocean.