Radiocarbon dating samples Radiocarbon dating samples Samples used for radiocarbon dating must be handled carefully to avoid contamination. Not all material can be dated by this method; only samples containing organic matter can be tested: the date found will be the date of death of the plants or animals from which the sample originally came. Samples for dating need to be converted into a form suitable for measuring the content; this can mean conversion to gaseous, liquid, or solid form, depending on the measurement technique to be used. Before this can be done, however, the sample must be treated to remove any contamination
Hydrogen isotope biogeochemistry used which has an isotope ratio of 155.76 ±0.1 ppm. The delta value as compared to this standard is defined as: These delta values are often quite small, and are usually reported as per mil values (‰) which come from multiplying the above equation by a factor of 1000. The study of hydrogen isotope biogeochemistry relies on the fact that various physicochemical processes will preferentially enrich or deplete deuterium relative to protium (see kinetic isotope effect, etc.). There are various measures that have been developed to described the fractionation in an isotope between two pools, often the product and reactant