A new study found that fossil fuel emissions could soon make radiocarbon dating techniques less accurate. The research, authored by Heather Graven of Imperial College London, was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and it presented simulations of carbon and carbon-14 dynamics in the future. The researchers found significant conlusions, which may be important for the outcomes of various industries relying on radiocarbon technology. The question now is, just how do fossil fuel emissions spark the possibility of inaccurate radiocarbon dating?
Radiocarbon dating is the most common technique used to determine the definitive age of an archaeological artifact. The process is initiated by obtaining an organic piece of material for the subject. Next, the material will be washed under high temperatures using a solution that contains strong acidic and basic components to rid it of any impurities. The object is then set aflame and when it starts to emit fumes containing carbon dioxide, an accelerator mass spectrometer will be used to determine the amounts of carbon-14 decay. The rule is, the higher the amount of decayed carbon-14 detected, the older the material is. Therefore, fossil fuel emissions present in the atmosphere that are absorbed by plants can cause materials to look older than it really is.
The dilemma lies in the fact that radiocarbon dating is affected not only by the amount of carbon-14 decay, but also as normal carbon increases. This is the concept that applies to the burning of fossil fuels, which are extremely old that they don't possess even a little amount of carbon-14 anymore. At present, nonradioactive carbon is now spreading across the atmosphere and subsequently creating a dilution effect.
The dilution effect initiated by the nonradioactive carbon is well recognized; however, the exact scale under the various settings of emissions were not thoroughly understood. Through Graven's study, it was found that the impact of emissions are significant at inducing atmospheric aging should pollution persists at its present rate.
The given aging of the atmosphere was halted in the 1950s when nuclear testings were performed, producing extensive amounts of carbon-14, doubling its then present amounts in the atmosphere. However, after numerous decades, fossil fuel emissions are once again shooting up atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.
The trend of growth or decline of fossil fuel emissions in the future will identify the extent of dilution that atmospheric carbon dioxide will face from fossil carbon. Another essential point of concern is the manner in which atmospheric carbon dioxide dilution is managed by natural interactions of carbon dioxide with the land and the ocean.
