A numerical approach to 14C wiggle-match dating of organic deposits:: best fits and confidence intervals

C-14 wiggle-match dating (WMD) of peat deposits uses the non-linear relationship between C-14 age and calendar age to match the shape of a sequence of closely spaced peat C-14 dates with the C-14 calibration curve. A numerical approach to WMD enables the quantitative assessment of various possible wiggle-match solutions and of calendar year confidence intervals for sequences of C-14 dates. We assess the assumptions, advantages, and limitations of the method. Several case-studies show that WMD results in more precise chronologies than when individual C-14 dates are calibrated. WMD is most successful during periods with major excursions in the C-14 calibration curve (e.g., in one case WMD could narrow down confidence intervals from 230 to 36 yr). (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.