Articles | Volume 17, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-1701-2021
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-1701-2021
Research article
 | Highlight paper
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16 Aug 2021
Research article | Highlight paper |  | 16 Aug 2021

On the tuning of plateaus in atmospheric and oceanic 14C records to derive calendar chronologies of deep-sea cores and records of 14C marine reservoir age changes

Edouard Bard and Timothy J. Heaton

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Interactive discussion

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on cp-2020-164', Paula Reimer, 25 Jan 2021
  • RC2: 'Comment on cp-2020-164', Anonymous Referee #2, 28 Jan 2021
  • CC1: 'Comment on cp-2020-164', Michael Sarnthein, 16 Feb 2021
  • CC2: 'Comment on cp-2020-164', Pieter M. Grootes, 17 Feb 2021
  • CC3: 'Comment on cp-2020-164', Pieter M. Grootes, 17 Feb 2021
  • CC4: 'Comment on cp-2020-164, Bernhard Weninger, 23rd Feb 2021', Bernhard Weninger, 23 Feb 2021
  • CC5: 'Comment on cp-2020-164', Frank Lamy, 04 Mar 2021
  • CC6: 'Comment on cp-2020-164', Elisabeth Michel, 05 Mar 2021

Peer review completion

AR: Author's response | RR: Referee report | ED: Editor decision | EF: Editorial file upload
ED: Publish subject to minor revisions (review by editor) (26 May 2021) by André Paul
AR by Edouard Bard on behalf of the Authors (16 Jun 2021)  Author's response   Author's tracked changes   Manuscript 
ED: Publish subject to technical corrections (08 Jul 2021) by André Paul
AR by Edouard Bard on behalf of the Authors (09 Jul 2021)  Manuscript 
Short summary
We assess the 14C plateau tuning technique used to date marine sediments and determine 14C marine reservoir ages. We identify problems linked to assumptions of the technique, the assumed shapes of the 14C / 12C records, and the sparsity and uncertainties in both atmospheric and marine data. Our concerns are supported with carbon cycle box model experiments and statistical simulations, allowing us to question the ability to tune 14C age plateaus in the context of noisy and sparse data.