Abstract
The detailed radiocarbon age vs. calibrated (cal) age studies of tree rings reported in this Calibration Issue provide a unique data set for precise 14C age calibration of materials formed in isotopic equilibrium with atmospheric CO2. The situation is more complex for organisms formed in other reservoirs, such as lakes and oceans. Here the initial specific 14C activity may differ from that of the contemporaneous atmosphere. The measured remaining 14C activity of samples formed in such reservoirs not only reflects 14C decay (related to sample age) but also the reservoir 14C activity. As the measured sample 14C activity figures into the calculation of a conventional 14C age (Stuiver & Polach 1977), apparent 14C age differences occur when contemporaneously grown samples of different reservoirs are dated.
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