Marine radiocarbon reservoir effect along the north-eastern coast of Australia during the Holocene

Radiocarbon dating of surface ocean samples involves estimates of marine radiocarbon reservoir effect (e.g., marine reservoir age (R) and correction (ΔR)). These values for a given location are generally assumed to be constant with time when calibrating marine 14C ages. However, recent studies have reported large variability in the marine radiocarbon reservoir effect of several hundred to a couple of thousand years for various regions in the Pacific, Atlantic and Mediterranean during the Late-glacial and Holocene (Siani et al., 2001; Bondevik et al., 2006; Burr et al., 2009; Hua et al., 2009; Yu et al., 2010; Ortlieb et al., 2011; Sarnthein et al., 2011). These variations result from changes in ocean circulation and the carbon cycle associated with climate change. In this paper we present an investigation of possible variability in the marine radiocarbon reservoir effect along the north-eastern coast of Australia in South-Western (SW) Pacific during the last 8000 years. This study aims to get a better understanding of ocean circulation changes associated with climate change for the study area during the Holocene and to improve radiocarbon dating of marine samples