Dating loess by red thermoluminescence of quartz■

Document Type : Research Article

Author

Institute of Geophysics, University of Tehran, P.O. Box 14155-6466, Tehran, Iran / OUCE, University of Oxford, Mansfield Road, OX1 3TB

Abstract

The loess deposits in central Asia, China, Europe and the USA provide records of past climate, which permits the study of paleoclimatology. Although luminescence dating has had an important role in dating loess, significant challenges still remain.
UV-blue emission from polymineral and feldspar suffer from anomalous fading. UV-blue emission from quartz saturates at c. <500 Gy. Fattahi (2001) reported the ability of red thermoluminescence for dating volcanic quartz to c.1.3 Ma.
This paper investigates the possibility of applying single aliquot regeneration red thermoluminescence (SAR RTL) protocol for dating loess and demonstrating that:
1-  It is possible to detect red thermoluminescence from loess.
2-  Red thermoluminescence from loess is bleachable.
3-  SAR RTL is able to recover a known laboratory dose.
4-  Equivalent doses around 1000 Gy are accessible.
This information suggests that SAR RTL is a powerful protocol for dating loess which can extend the time range of luminescence dating of unburnt Aeolian sediments.

Keywords

References

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Journal of the Earth and Space Physics
Volume 32, Issue 3
June 2006
Pages 21-33

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