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Heaton TJ, Bard E, Bayliss A, Blaauw M, Bronk Ramsey C, Reimer PJ, Turney CSM, Usoskin I. Extreme solar storms and the quest for exact dating with radiocarbon. Nature 2024; 633:306-317. [PMID: 39261612 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07679-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2023] [Accepted: 06/05/2024] [Indexed: 09/13/2024]
Abstract
Radiocarbon (14C) is essential for creating chronologies to study the timings and drivers of pivotal events in human history and the Earth system over the past 55,000 years. It is also a fundamental proxy for investigating solar processes, including the potential of the Sun for extreme activity. Until now, fluctuations in past atmospheric 14C levels have limited the dating precision possible using radiocarbon. However, the discovery of solar super-storms known as extreme solar particle events (ESPEs) has driven a series of advances with the potential to transform the calendar-age precision of radiocarbon dating. Organic materials containing unique 14C ESPE signatures can now be dated to annual precision. In parallel, the search for further storms using high-precision annual 14C measurements has revealed fine-scaled variations that can be used to improve calendar-age precision, even in periods that lack ESPEs. Furthermore, the newly identified 14C fluctuations provide unprecedented insight into solar variability and the carbon cycle. Here, we review the current state of knowledge and share our insights into these rapidly developing, diverse research fields. We identify links between radiocarbon, archaeology, solar physics and Earth science to stimulate transdisciplinary collaboration, and we propose how researchers can take advantage of these recent developments.
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Affiliation(s)
- T J Heaton
- Department of Statistics, School of Mathematics, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
| | - E Bard
- CEREGE, Aix-Marseille University, CNRS, IRD, INRAE, Collège de France, Technopole de l'Arbois BP 80, Aix en Provence Cedex 4, France
| | | | - M Blaauw
- The ¹⁴CHRONO Centre for Climate, the Environment and Chronology, Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology, School of Natural and Built Environment, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK
| | - C Bronk Ramsey
- Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - P J Reimer
- The ¹⁴CHRONO Centre for Climate, the Environment and Chronology, Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology, School of Natural and Built Environment, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK
| | - C S M Turney
- Institute of Sustainable Futures, Division of Research, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, New South Wales, Australia
- Chronos ¹⁴Carbon-Cycle Facility, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - I Usoskin
- Space Physics and Astronomy Research Unit and Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
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2
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Maczkowski A, Pearson C, Francuz J, Giagkoulis T, Szidat S, Wacker L, Bolliger M, Kotsakis K, Hafner A. Absolute dating of the European Neolithic using the 5259 BC rapid 14C excursion. Nat Commun 2024; 15:4263. [PMID: 38769301 PMCID: PMC11106086 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-48402-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2023] [Accepted: 04/30/2024] [Indexed: 05/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Abrupt radiocarbon (14C) excursions, or Miyake events, in sequences of radiocarbon measurements from calendar-dated tree-rings provide opportunities to assign absolute calendar dates to undated wood samples from contexts across history and prehistory. Here, we report a tree-ring and 14C-dating study of the Neolithic site of Dispilio, Northern Greece, a waterlogged archaeological site on Lake Kastoria. Findings secure an absolute, calendar-dated time using the 5259 BC Miyake event, with the final ring of the 303-year-long juniper tree-ring chronology dating to 5140 BC. While other sites have been absolutely dated to a calendar year through 14C-signature Miyake events, Dispilio is the first European Neolithic site of these and it provides a fixed, calendar-year anchor point for regional chronologies of the Neolithic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrej Maczkowski
- Institute of Archaeological Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
- Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
| | - Charlotte Pearson
- Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, University of Arizona, Tucson, USA
| | - John Francuz
- Institute of Archaeological Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Tryfon Giagkoulis
- School of History and Archaeology, University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Sönke Szidat
- Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Lukas Wacker
- Laboratory for Ion Beam Physics, ETH Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Matthias Bolliger
- Institute of Archaeological Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- Laboratory for Dendrochronology, Archaeological Service of Canton of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Kostas Kotsakis
- School of History and Archaeology, University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Albert Hafner
- Institute of Archaeological Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
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3
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Zhang Q, Sharma U, Dennis JA, Scifo A, Kuitems M, Büntgen U, Owens MJ, Dee MW, Pope BJS. Modelling cosmic radiation events in the tree-ring radiocarbon record. Proc Math Phys Eng Sci 2022. [DOI: 10.1098/rspa.2022.0497] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Annually resolved measurements of the radiocarbon content in tree-rings have revealed rare sharp rises in carbon-14 production. These ‘Miyake events’ are likely produced by rare increases in cosmic radiation from the Sun or other energetic astrophysical sources. The radiocarbon produced is not only circulated through the Earth’s atmosphere and oceans, but also absorbed by the biosphere and locked in the annual growth rings of trees. To interpret high-resolution tree-ring radiocarbon measurements therefore necessitates modelling the entire global carbon cycle. Here, we introduce ‘
ticktack
’ (
https://github.com/SharmaLlama/ticktack/
), the first open-source Python package that connects box models of the carbon cycle with modern Bayesian inference tools. We use this to analyse all public annual
14
C
tree data, and infer posterior parameters for all six known Miyake events. They do not show a consistent relationship to the solar cycle, and several display extended durations that challenge either astrophysical or geophysical models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qingyuan Zhang
- School of Mathematics and Physics, University of Queensland,St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Utkarsh Sharma
- School of Mathematics and Physics, University of Queensland,St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Jordan A. Dennis
- School of Mathematics and Physics, University of Queensland,St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Andrea Scifo
- Centre for Isotope Research, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Margot Kuitems
- Centre for Isotope Research, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Ulf Büntgen
- Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EN, UK
- Global Change Research Institute (CzechGlobe), Czech Academy of Sciences, 60300 Brno, Czech Republic
- Department of Geography, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, 61137 Brno, Czech Republic
- Swiss Federal Research Institute (WSL), 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Mathew J. Owens
- Department of Meteorology, University of Reading, Earley Gate,PO Box 243, Reading RG6 6BB, UK
| | - Michael W. Dee
- Centre for Isotope Research, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Benjamin J. S. Pope
- School of Mathematics and Physics, University of Queensland,St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
- Centre for Astrophysics, University of Southern Queensland,West Street, Toowoomba, Queensland 4350, Australia
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Single-year radiocarbon dating anchors Viking Age trade cycles in time. Nature 2021; 601:392-396. [PMID: 34937937 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-04240-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2021] [Accepted: 11/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Recent discoveries of rapid changes in the atmospheric 14C concentration linked to solar particle events have spurred the construction of new radiocarbon annual calibration datasets1-13. With these datasets, radiocarbon dating becomes relevant for urban sites, which require dates at higher resolution than previous calibration datasets could offer. Here we use a single-year radiocarbon calibration curve to anchor the archaeological stratigraphy of a Viking Age trade centre in time. We present absolutely dated evidence for artefact finds charting the expansion of long-distance trade from as far away as Arctic Norway and the Middle East, which we linked to the beginning of the Viking Age at AD 790 ± 10. The methods developed here enable human interactions and cultural, climatic and environmental changes to be compared in archaeological stratigraphies worldwide.
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Abstract
Transatlantic exploration took place centuries before the crossing of Columbus. Physical evidence for early European presence in the Americas can be found in Newfoundland, Canada1,2. However, it has thus far not been possible to determine when this activity took place3-5. Here we provide evidence that the Vikings were present in Newfoundland in AD 1021. We overcome the imprecision of previous age estimates by making use of the cosmic-ray-induced upsurge in atmospheric radiocarbon concentrations in AD 993 (ref. 6). Our new date lays down a marker for European cognisance of the Americas, and represents the first known point at which humans encircled the globe. It also provides a definitive tie point for future research into the initial consequences of transatlantic activity, such as the transference of knowledge, and the potential exchange of genetic information, biota and pathologies7,8.
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