Dating of recent catchment peats using spheroidal carbonaceous particle (SCP) concentration profiles with particular reference to Lochnagar, Scotland

Ten peat cores were taken from the catchment of Lochnagar, a remote mountai n lake in the Caimgorms region of Scotland. Organic content, measured as lo ss-on-ignition (LOI), profiles of most of the cores are high (>90%) through out. As the movement of spheroidal carbonaceous particles (SCPs) is insigni ficant, with steady accumulation, the peats can be used as an archive for r econstructing the historical records of SCP deposition. The SCP profiles of these cores were matched to the SCP dating features of a Lochnagar lake-se diment core so that the catchment peats could be dated. The results show th at the start of SCP record is a good dating feature. The applicability of t he rapid increase in SCP concentration for dating depended on the stability of peat accumulation, whereas the subsurface peak may be a useful future d ating horizon.