%0 Journal Article %1 lichenometry-innes %A Innes, John L. %D 1985 %J Progress in Physical Geography %K SDE estimation lichen lichenometry point_processes statistical_problems %N 2 %P 187-254 %T Lichenometry %U http://ppg.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/9/2/187 %V 9 %X The of lichens to determine the age of deposits (lichenometry) has now been use widely adopted. The basic assumption underlying the technique is that lichens growing on a rock surface or other suitable substrate can be used to obtain an approximation of the date of deposition of that surface. If the time taken between the exposure of a substrate and its colonization by lichens is known, and if the rate of growth of a given species at a site is also known, then a minimum date can be obtained by measuring the diameter (or some other property related to size) of the largest lichen at that site and referring this to a 'growth' curve for the species. Lichenometry represents a potentially useful dating technique in areas both above and beyond the tree line in the arctic-alpine environment and has also been success- fully employed in a variety of other environments. Dating may be either relative or absolute. Relative dates indicate that one deposit may differ in age from another whereas with absolute dating, it may be possible to quantify the age differences and to obtain precise dates for the deposition/exposure of the substrate. The longevity of lichens in arctic-alpine environments is such that it is sometimes possible to date deposits of up to several thousand years in age. This is an extreme example; in the majority of cases, lichenometry as an absolute dating technique is only useful for approximately the past 500 years. As this is frequently the period during which radiocarbon dating is comparatively inefficient, the technique is of considerable value.

@article{lichenometry-innes, abstract = {The of lichens to determine the age of deposits (lichenometry) has now been use widely adopted. The basic assumption underlying the technique is that lichens growing on a rock surface or other suitable substrate can be used to obtain an approximation of the date of deposition of that surface. If the time taken between the exposure of a substrate and its colonization by lichens is known, and if the rate of growth of a given species at a site is also known, then a minimum date can be obtained by measuring the diameter (or some other property related to size) of the largest lichen at that site and referring this to a 'growth' curve for the species. Lichenometry represents a potentially useful dating technique in areas both above and beyond the tree line in the arctic-alpine environment and has also been success- fully employed in a variety of other environments. Dating may be either relative or absolute. Relative dates indicate that one deposit may differ in age from another whereas with absolute dating, it may be possible to quantify the age differences and to obtain precise dates for the deposition/exposure of the substrate. The longevity of lichens in arctic-alpine environments is such that it is sometimes possible to date deposits of up to several thousand years in age. This is an extreme example; in the majority of cases, lichenometry as an absolute dating technique is only useful for approximately the past 500 years. As this is frequently the period during which radiocarbon dating is comparatively inefficient, the technique is of considerable value. }, added-at = {2009-02-20T18:27:15.000+0100}, author = {Innes, John L.}, biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/245a89dcb12b2a438512267876aea8be2/peter.ralph}, interhash = {8facad4c89b49769488e25f2de7715cd}, intrahash = {45a89dcb12b2a438512267876aea8be2}, journal = {Progress in Physical Geography}, keywords = {SDE estimation lichen lichenometry point_processes statistical_problems}, number = 2, pages = {187-254}, timestamp = {2009-02-20T18:27:15.000+0100}, title = {Lichenometry}, url = {http://ppg.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/9/2/187}, volume = 9, year = 1985 }