SCHOLARS@TAMU

AbstractWhile the exchange of water through Yucatan Strait is reasonably well known, the age of the deep water in both the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico is not. We recently measured the radiocarbon (14C) concentrations in deep water in the Gulf of Mexico from a line of stations along 9030W. The mean apparent age of water below 900 m, the depth of the Florida Strait sill, was found to be about 740 yr relative to the 195014C standard. Depending on how the corrections for biological activity in the upper water are applied, this converts to a true age of between 231 28 and 293 74 yr. These ages agree with a previous estimate of the age of the deep water in the Gulf of Mexico based on heat flows, put upper limits on the age of the deep water in the Caribbean Sea, and provide constraints on modelers for the return of deep water from the Gulf of Mexico to the Caribbean. This might be important in the event of a future deep water oil or other chemical spill in the region.

• DiMarco, Steven
• Yvon-Lewis, Shari
• Chapman, Piers

RADIOCARBON

• Radiocarbon Ams Dating
• Water
• Gulf Of Mexico

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