Marine reservoir corrections for the Indian Ocean and southeast Asia

We have measured radiocarbon in prebomb known-age shells and coral from the Indian Ocean and southeast Asia to determine marine reservoir age corrections. Western Indian Ocean results show a strong C-14 depletion due to upwelling in the Arabian Sea, and indicate that this signal is advected over a wide area to the east and south. In contrast, the surface waters of the South China Sea contain relatively high levels of C-14, due in part to the input of well-equilibrated water masses from the western Pacific. The easternmost regions of the Indian Ocean are also strongly influenced by the flowthrough of Pacific waters north of Australia.