Fish age validation with bomb-produced radiocarbon (14C) requires a known-age Delta14C reference chronology spanning the era of a marine increase in bomb-produced 14C (1950s to 1960s). Concordance between otolith Delta14C in a validation sample and the reference chronology indicates accurate test ages. Here we compare a new Delta14C reference chronology from the eastern Bering Sea and a previously established reference from the Gulf of Alaska with otolith Delta14C in two validation species, eastern Bering Sea yellowfin sole (Limanda aspera) and Gulf of Alaska northern rockfish (Sebastes polyspinis). Our goals were twofold: to validate the age determination methods for northern rockfish and yellowfin sole using comparisons within oceanic basins, and to explore the outcome of making naive comparisons of these validation data sets to reference chronologies across oceanic basins. We present a information-theoretic approach to hypothesis testing and use Bayesian data analysis with Markov Chain Monte Carlo simulation as a probabilistic framework to quantitatively estimate age determination bias and its uncertainty. Based on within-basin comparisons we concluded that estimated ages for eastern Bering Sea yellowfin sole and Gulf of Alaska northern rockfish were accurate. We further concluded that there were important differences in otolith 14C uptake between fish from the two ocean basins.

The data set contains bomb radiocarbon dating of otolith and other material used in age validation studies. Some are published and others are a work in progress. See reports or publications for scientific results and contact the Life History Program for status of others. Data reported is from radiocarbon analyses by NOSAMS (National Ocean Sciences Accelerator Mass Spectrometry facility at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution).

The data (Appendix 1) describe multiple micro samples from 40 specimens. The data set first provides specimen identification information: Specimen ID, estimated age, and AFSC RACE cruise number. Second, the data describes the milling and physical properties of each milled sampled, up to 42 samples per specimens: volume and mass. Finally, the data contain information and results from mass spectrometry analysis measuring d13C and d18O.

The longevity of blue marlin (Makaira nigricans) remains unresolved. The use of fin spines and sagittal otoliths for age reading has led to unconfirmed longevity estimates near 20–30 years. Age validation has been elusive because large individuals are uncommonly caught, and a technique that can be applied to structures that provide estimates of age was absent. The use of otolith chemical signatures has been limited by sagittal otoliths that are very small — whole otolith mass of adult blue marlin rarely exceeds 10 mg for the largest fish. Recent advances in the detection limits of radiocarbon (14C) with accelerator mass spectrometry — coupled with recently acquired knowledge of marine bomb 14C signals spanning the tropical Pacific Ocean — have led to an opportunity to age blue marlin from small amounts of otolith material. In this study, otoliths from a recently collected 1245 lb (565 kg) female blue marlin at a measured 146-inch (371 cm) lower jaw fork length were analyzed for 14C. Estimated longevity was either 12–21 or 32–44 years on the basis of bomb 14C dating. Using multiple lines of evidence, it was determined that the young age scenario was most likely, with evidence for an age close to 20 years using a series of deductions in the bomb 14C dating method. Included in this data set is information on the radiocarbon from otoliths of one adult male and two juvenile blue marlin.

High-resolution radiocarbon (14C) analyses on a coral core extracted from Guam, a western tropical Pacific island, revealed a series of early bomb-produced 14C spikes. The typical marine bomb 14C signal—phase lagged and attenuated relative to atmospheric records—is present in the coral and is consistent with other regional coral records. However, 14C levels well above what can be attributed to air-sea diffusion alone punctuate this pattern. This anomaly was observed in other Indo-Pacific coral records, but the Guam record is unmatched in magnitude and temporal resolution. The Guam coral ¿14C record provided three spikes in 1954–55, 1956–57, and 1958–59 that are superimposed on a normal 14C record. Relative to mean pre-bomb levels, the first peak rises an incredible ~700‰ and remained elevated for ~1.2 years. A follow up assay with finer resolution increased the peak by ~300‰. Subsequent spikes were less intense with a rise of ~35‰ and ~70‰. Each can be linked to thermonuclear testing in the Pacific Proving Grounds at Bikini and Enewetak atolls in Operations Castle (1954), Redwing (1956), and Hardtack I (1958). These 14C signals can be explained by vaporization of coral reef material in the nuclear fireball, coupled with neutron activation of atmospheric nitrogen (14C production), and subsequent absorption of 14CO2 to form particulate carbonates of close-in fallout. The lag time in reaching Guam and other coral records abroad was tied to ocean surface currents and modeling provided validation of 14C arrival observations.

This dataset includes discrete sample and profile data collected from unknown platforms in the North Atlantic Ocean, North Sea and Norwegian Sea from 1874-01-01 to 2005-12-31. These data include DELTA CARBON-13, DELTA CARBON-14 and Percent modern carbon (PMC). The instruments used to collect these data include CTD and bottle. These data were collected by Jan Heinemeier of Aarhus University, James D. Scourse of Bangor University; School of Ocean Sciences, Alan D. Wanamaker Jr. of Iowa State University; Department of Geological and Atmospheric Sciences, Paula J. Reimer of Queen's University Belfast, and Chris Weidman of Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, PO as part of the Delta 14C Time Histories from Arctica Islandica Growth Increments dataset.

Corals of the Hawaiian Archipelago are well situated in the North Pacific Gyre (NPG) to record how bomb-produced radiocarbon (14C) has been sequestered and transported by the sea. While this signal can be traced accurately through time in reef-building corals and used to infer oceanographic processes and determine the ages of marine organisms, a comprehensive and validated record has been lacking for the Hawaiian Archipelago. In this study, a coral core from Kure Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands was used to create a high-resolution bomb 14C record for the years 1939–2002, and was then used with other 14C measurements in fish otoliths and seawater to explore differences and similarities in the bomb 14C signal throughout the Hawaiian Archipelago. The Kure Atoll sample series produced a well-defined bomb 14C curve that, with some exceptions, was similar to other coral 14C records from the Hawaiian Archipelago. Subtle differences in the coral 14C records across the region may be explained by the large-scale ocean circulation patterns and decadal cycles of the NPG. The most rapid increase of 14C, in the 1950s and 1960s, showed similar timing across the Hawaiian Archipelago and provides a robust basis for use of bomb 14C dating to obtain high precision age determinations of marine organisms. Reference otoliths of juvenile fish demonstrated the use of the post-peak 14C decline period as a viable reference in the age validation of younger and more recently collected fishes, and effectively extended the utility of bomb 14C dating to the latest 30 years.