Luminescence dating of Würmian (Weichselian) proglacial sediments from Switzerland: methodological aspects and stratigraphical conclusions

Proglacial deposits from three independently dated sites in the Swiss lowlands were investigated by optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) to test the reliability of the applied dating approach. Using the single-aliquot regenerative-dose technique applied to small aliquots of quartz revealed that in all samples the OSL signal was differentially bleached prior to deposition. A statistical approach is introduced to extract the fraction of aliquots in which the OSL was apparently set to zero at deposition. The statistical treatment provided OSL ages in good consistency with independent age control. However, some uncertainties remain with this approach, since it is difficult to assess the natural scatter caused by dose-rate inhomogeneity exactly. The available data set implies that glaciers reached the Swiss lowlands prior to about 25 000 yr ago. Previously published data from other sites demonstrate that glaciers were present in lowland Switzerland up to about 20000 yr ago. Furthermore, one OSL date of about 70 000 yr for proglacial outwash sediments points to the presence of the Rhône Glacier in the Lake Neuchâtel area during the middle part of the Late Pleistocene.