HESSEL DE VRIES: RADIOCARBON PIONEER FROM GRONINGEN. Issue 3 (16th June 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Grootes, Pieter M; van der Plicht, Hans
• Is Part Of: Radiocarbon. Volume 64:Issue 3(2022)
• Page Start: 419
• Page End: 433
• Publication Date: 2022-06-16
• Subjects: 14C variations -- de Vries -- Groningen -- proportional CO2 counter -- radiocarbon -- time scale; Radiocarbon dating -- Periodicals; 930.1028505
• DOI: 10.1017/RDC.2021.63
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0033-8222

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Hessel de Vries contributed to radiocarbon ( 14 C) dating for only one short decade. Yet, his development of proportional CO2 counting greatly facilitated 14 C measurements, improved their reproducibility, and lowered both the amount of carbon needed for a measurement and the 14 C detection limit by at least a factor ten. Validating Libby's 14 C method by checking its basic assumptions with improved sensitivity, de Vries documented relatively minor violations. Natural variations in atmospheric 14 C concentrations, found in tree rings, marked the start of 14 C tree-ring calibration. Variable differences in 14 C concentration between the atmosphere and aquatic reservoirs revealed reservoir ages, leading to further studies. De Vries applied analogue modeling to gain a better understanding of the influence of cosmogenic 14 C production and the global carbon cycle, inclusive CO2 exchange across the air-water boundary, on atmospheric 14 C concentrations. In close collaboration with colleagues in archaeology and geology, de Vries documented climate fluctuations and archaeological developments over the last 50, 000+ years and placed them on a common 14 C time scale.