As. Dyke et al., MARINE RESERVOIR CORRECTIONS FOR BOWHEAD WHALE RADIOCARBON AGE-DETERMINATIONS, Canadian journal of earth sciences, 33(12), 1996, pp. 1628-1637
Twenty-two pairs of radiocarbon dates on driftwood and bowhead whale (
Balaena mysticetus) banes from raised beaches, dates on whale bone and
terrestrial plant detritus from a stratigraphic section, and 25 addit
ional dates on whale bones from the lowest (less than or equal to 1 ka
BP) raised beaches in the eastern Canadian Arctic suggest that a mari
ne reservoir correction of about -200 years is appropriate for normali
zed age determinations on bone collagen from the bowhead whale in this
region. This is less than the correction (-400 years) normally applie
d to carbonate shells of marine molluscs from this region. The carbon
in bowhead collagen appears to be derived from the whales' zooplankton
food rather than from marine bicarbonate.