ABSTRACT
Just as the most comprehensive records of long-term geological history are to be found in depositional environments. So, in the study of operating geomorphic processes, the fullest record of their operation and of the changes in material flux that they have generated will often be found in the stratigraphy of lake sediments and peats. The nature of peat varies with and reflects the trophic and topographic conditions within which the peat-forming plant species grow. The dating techniques applicable to peats and sediments provide chronologies on timescales ranging from annual to millennial. The dating principles, the precision that can be achieved and the accuracy and reliability of the techniques vary immensely. Radiocarbon dating (14C) Of the radiometric dating techniques available for lake sediments and peats, by far the most commonly used and best known is the radiocarbon method.
