Standard Operating Procedures for the Paleoecology Lab

For internal use only.

Please send corrections or additions to Dan or write corrections on white board in the lab

Lab use and clean up

• Sediment core initial processing
  • Core-drive data sheet
  • Example of a core-drive data sheet
• Pollen processing
• Pollen processing in detail
  • Pollen processing data sheet
  • Pacific Northwest pollen ID data sheet
• Loss on ignition (LOI)
  • Datasheet (.xlsx) for recording LOI data
  • Spreadsheet (.xlsx) for calculation of LOI and sediment mass accumulation rates
• Magnetic susceptibility
• Radiocarbon preparation: Acid-base-acid treatment
• Sieving sediment for macroscopic charcoal
• Sieving sediment for macrofossil identification
• Biogenic silica (Mortlock and Froelich Method)
• Soils: Acid-peroxide digestion for pyrogenic organic matter
• Acid-wash sediment to remove carbonates for elemental analysis (C, N, 13C).

Adaptive, iterative, process to develop a radiocarbon-dated pollen profile.

1. Radiocarbon dates to obtain immediately: Core base (if possible), possibly other major transitions in sediment type
2. Process and count 12 pollen samples roughly evenly down-core. Plot a diagram.
3. Note locations of change in the pollen percentages. Select 12 more depths with increased resolution at depths of major changes. Process and count pollen, plot new diagram.
4. Obtain a few radiocarbon dates at depths of rapid changes in pollen percentages.
5. Build age-depth model. Plot diagram on age scale.
6. Select depths for 12 pollen samples with the aim for even temporal resolution. Process and count samples. Plot diagram. Return to step 4.