Synonyms
Chronology of lake sediments; Dating of lake sediments
Definition
Dating the depositional age of lake sediments and sedimentary rocks.
Dating methods
Lake sediments can be dated using absolute, relative, and/or radiometric dating methods. The different methods have different age ranges. Absolute dating methods are those that make use of counting of distinct annual and seasonal layers; these layers are preserved in lakes with anoxic bottom water conditions and absence of burrowing organisms and can be counted by the naked eye or under the microscope. Relative or age-equivalent dating methods compare specific events detected in the sediments (e.g., volcanic ash, biotic, geophysical, and geochemical changes) with the same events dated in another lake or elsewhere to create an age model. Comparisons and calibrations against the astronomical time scale are used for sediments or sedimentary rocks that are older than 150,000 years. Radiometric dating methods make use of the...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Bibliography
Appleby, P. G., 2008. Three decades of dating recent sediments by fallout radionuclides: a review. The Holocene, 18(1), 83–93, doi:10.1177/0959683607085598.
Björck, S., and Wohlfarth, B., 2001. 14C chronostratigraphic techniques in paleolimnology. In Last, W. M., and Smol, J. P. (eds.), Tracking Environmental Change Using Lake Sediments: Physical and Chemical Techniques. Dordrecht: Kluwer, pp. 205–245.
Cohen, A. S., 2003. Paleolimnology – The History and Evolution of Lake Systems. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-513353-6.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this entry
Cite this entry
Wohlfarth, B. (2012). Age Determination of Lake Deposits. In: Bengtsson, L., Herschy, R.W., Fairbridge, R.W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Lakes and Reservoirs. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4410-6_23
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4410-6_23
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-5616-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-4410-6
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences