ELFT HÍRADÓ

[Király Beáta <kiraly.beata AT atomki.hu>]

From nuclear tests to crime scenes: 
forensic applications of radiocarbon dating at CEDAD 

by Gianluca Quarta 
CEDAD (CEnter of Applied Physics, DAting and Diagnostics), Department of 
Mathematics and Physics, University of Salento and INFN (Italian National 
Institute for Nuclear Physics); Lecce, Italy 



When: 2026-04-30 Thursday 11:00 

Where: HUN-REN ATOMKI, nagyelőadó (Debrecen, Bem tér 18/c) 





Other information: 
Tea and cookies are offered 30 minutes before the seminar. 



Abstract: 


Beyond traditional applications in archaeology, geochronology, cultural 
heritage diagnostics, earth and life sciences, 14 C dating is gaining 
relevance in forensic sciences. Samples younger than ~70 years can be dated 
with few-year chronological resolution using bomb peak dating. This is based 
on the detection of anthropogenic 14 C released into the atmosphere from 
aboveground nuclear detonation tests carried out after the Second World War. 
This method offers high precision and low sensitivity to environmental 
factors such as temperature, light exposure and humidity but requires 
in-depth interpretation accounting for carbon fixation timing, turnover and 
local deviations from the global curve. During the seminar basics aspects of 
the method will be introduced together with examples of applications in 
forensic anthropology, forgery detection in cultural heritage, combating 
illicit trafficking of endangered species. 




--- 
Király Beáta, PhD 
HUN-REN ATOMKI / HUN-REN Atommagkutató Intézet 
C: 4026 Debrecen, Bem tér 18/c 
T: +36 52 509 200 
E: kiraly.beata AT atomki.hu 
W: [ http://www.atomki.hu/ | www.atomki.hu ]