Carbon-13 in a-cellulose of oak latewood (Jędrzejów, Southern Poland) during the Maunder Minimum

Abstract

We have studied the d13 C signature in latewood a-cellulose of an ancient oak (Quercus robur L.) from a Cisterian Abbey belfry in Jędrzejów (Southern Poland). The time scale for the d13 C record during 1631-1765 AD was built on the basis of detailed dendrochronology studies. Techniques available for extraction of a-cellulose from small samples have been used, the mean value of a-cellulose extraction efficiency being ca. 35%. In the d13 C record of a-cellulose the cooling between 1650-1700 AD is clearly visible as a decrease of about 1.5. This period is consistent with the interval of the lowest solar activity between 1645 and 1715 AD, which is known as the Maunder Minimum. Anti-correlation between d13 C and D14 C during the Maunder Minimum was observed but D14 C record is delayed by about 30 years with respect to the Maunder Minimum.