Late-Holocene marine radiocarbon reservoir correction (ΔR) for the west coast of South Africa

Abstract

In order to calibrate radiocarbon ages based on samples with a marine carbon component it is important to know the marine carbon reservoir correction or ΔR value. This study measured the ΔR on both known-age pre-bomb marine shells and paired marine and terrestrial samples from two regions on the west coast of South Africa: the southwestern Cape and Namaqualand. Pooling the data by region produces ΔR values that are similar enough to use a west coast weighted mean ΔR of 146 ± 85 14C years to correctly calibrate marine shell or mixed marine and terrestrial 14C ages. There are however temporal differences in ΔR throughout the Holocene, which we compare with proxy data for upwelling and sea surface temperatures.