Not really news as this is from 2 years ago, but I wanted to share as I thought this method of exact dating is nothing short of genius!
Not really news as this is from 2 years ago, but I wanted to share as I thought this method of exact dating is nothing short of genius!
Analysis of wood from timber-framed buildings in Newfoundland shows Norse-built settlement 471 years before Columbus
This study, published in the journal Nature, made use of the cosmic-ray induced upsurge in atmospheric radiocarbon concentrations during a known solar storm in AD993, which released an enormous pulse of radiation that was absorbed by trees at the time.
The logs, with bark still attached, were from trees alive during that solar storm, and excavated from the site. Such solar storms are reflected in annual tree growth rings. In all three samples, 28 growth rings were formed after the one that bore evidence of the storm, meaning the trees were cut in AD1021.
Not really news as this is from 2 years ago, but I wanted to share as I thought this method of exact dating is nothing short of genius!