ABSTRACT
Systemic anomalies in the 14C age determinations result from worldwide or regional offsets in initial or "zero-age" 14C concentrations in various carbon reservoirs. This chapter focuses attention on the effects of variability in systemic elements on the accuracy and precision of 14C age determinations. Systemic elements involve both variations in the parameters controlling worldwide and hemisphere-wide atmospheric initial or "zero-age" 14C concentrations in living organisms and localized or regional offsets due to anomalous variations in zero-age 14C concentrations in one or more parts of a given carbon reservoir. It examines three major causes of systemic variability that can contribute to the creation of significant 14C secular variation offsets: production rate parameters, distribution rate parameters and reservoir effects. The chapter concludes the effects of recent additions of differential amounts of 12C and 14C in carbon exchange reservoirs caused by relatively recent human activity is also briefly considered. These effects include anthropogenic fossil fuel combustion and nuclear device detonation.
