The radiocarbon (14C) results are listed in Table 1.8 It is immediately evident that there was detectable radiocarbon in all wood samples, so that the laboratories staff had neither hesitation nor difficulties in calculating 14C ages. When subsequently questioned regarding the limits of the analytical method for the radiocarbon and any possibility of contamination, staff at both laboratories (Ph.D. scientists) were readily insistent that the results, with one exception,9 were within the detection limits and therefore provided quotable finite ages!8 Furthermore, they pointed to the almost identical d13C results (last column in Table 1), consistent with the carbon being organic carbon from wood, and indicating no possibility of contamination. So the results in Table 1 are staunchly defended by the laboratories as valid, indicating an age of perhaps 44,00045,500 years for the wood encased in the basalt retrieved from the drill core.
In stark contrast to the age of the wood are the potassium-argon (K-AR) ages of the basalt (see Table 2).8 It is readily apparent that there are significant variations in the results, as evident in the calculated ages of the outcrop 2 sample provided by each laboratory. The problem of obtaining consistently acceptable K-AR ages is also highlighted by the observation that both outcrop and both drill core samples probably represent the same basalt flow in each respective location (hence the calculated average ages in the last column of Table 2.10 The staff of both laboratories (again Ph.D. scientists) defended their analytical results,8,11 and did not hesitate to affirm that these basalt samples are, according to their radioactive K-AR dating, around 45 million years old.