Hypothetical Influence of Bacterial Communities on the Transfer of 14C-Depleted Carbon to Infaunal Foraminifera: Implications for Radiocarbon Dating in Coastal Environments - Archive ouverte HAL Accéder directement au contenu
Article Dans Une Revue Radiocarbon Année : 2019

Hypothetical Influence of Bacterial Communities on the Transfer of 14C-Depleted Carbon to Infaunal Foraminifera: Implications for Radiocarbon Dating in Coastal Environments

Résumé

Little is known about the potential complications that may arise from the use of coastal foraminifera for radiocarbon (14C) dating. The aim of this study is to report the fortuitous finding of 14C-dated Haynesina germanica individuals picked from two sediment cores (Pertuis Charentais, France), which appeared 2500–2000 years older than their expected age of deposition. Stratigraphical and micropaleontogical evidence have ruled out the possible effect of reworking of calcareous tests from previous strata. Similar anomalous 14C ages were obtained on abundant lignocellulose debris recovered from the cores, which are supplied by rivers flowing into the study area. Given that H. germanica is an infaunal species, we hypothesize that in-situ living individuals acquired the 14C-depleted isotopic signature of lignocellulose debris within the sediment prior to definitive burial, following an unexplored pathway of carbon transfer between the two compartments. Based on the literature, we propose a plausible explanation, which involves bacterial communities living in the study area. This putative role of bacteria may have considerable importance for past and future studies of Holocene environmental changes in coastal environments. Further work is now needed to explore this hypothesis with more robust, direct evidence based on comprehensive geochemical, geochronological and microbiological studies.
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Dates et versions

hal-02319798 , version 1 (18-10-2019)

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Clément Poirier, Juliette Baumann, Eric Chaumillon. Hypothetical Influence of Bacterial Communities on the Transfer of 14C-Depleted Carbon to Infaunal Foraminifera: Implications for Radiocarbon Dating in Coastal Environments. Radiocarbon, 2019, 61 (03), pp.845-865. ⟨10.1017/RDC.2019.7⟩. ⟨hal-02319798⟩
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