Ice-Core Dating of the Pleistocene/Holocene Boundary Applied to a Calibration of the14C Time Scale

Abstract
Seasonal variations in18O content, in acidity, and in dust content have been used to count annual layers in the Dye 3 deep ice core back to the Late Glacial. In this way the Pleistocene/Holocene boundary has been absolutely dated to 8770 BC with an estimated error limit of ± 150 years. If compared to the conventional14C age of the same boundary a value of Δ14C = 53 ± 13‰ is obtained. This Δ14C value suggests that14C levels during the Late Glacial were not substantially higher than during the Postglacial.