Luminescence-dating zeroing tests in Lake Hoare, Taylor Valley, Antarctica

In two of the perennially ice-covered lakes in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, lakes Hoare and Bonney in the Taylor Valley, bottom water has ¹⁴C ages of 2.7 ka and 10 ka (respectively), rendering ¹⁴C ages of bottom sediments highly problematic. Consequently, we tested the effectiveness of thermoluminescence (TL) zeroing in polymineral fine silt material from several depositional environments around and on the lake (stream suspensions, ice-surface sand dune, and silty sand from near the top of the more-than-3m-thick ice). We also conducted TL and infrared-stimulated-luminescence (IRSL) dating tests on material from three box cores recovered from the bottom of Lake Hoare, in a transect away from the abutting Canada Glacier. We observed effective zeroing of light-sensitive TL in suspended silt from one input stream and less effective zeroing from another stream. We observed effective zeroing of light-sensitive TL also in silt from a glacier-proximal eolian ice-surface dune and from sand from within the upper 5 cm of ice. In contrast, in box-core 1, the bottom sediment yielded minimum TL apparent ages of 1500-2600 yrs, with no discernable stratigraphic depth trend. IRSL dating applied to the same box-core samples produced significantly lower age estimates, ranging from ~600 ± 200 yrs to 1440 ± 270 yrs top-to-bottom, an improvement over the depth-constant ~2200 yrs TL ages. In two other cores closer to the Canada Glacier, IRSL ages from ~600 ± 200 yrs (top) to ~ 2900± 300 yrs (at depth) were measured. Not only are the IRSL ages a significant improvement over the TL results, but the near-core-top IRSL ages are also a dramatic improvement over the ¹⁴C results (~2.7 ka). IRSL dating has a demonstrated potential to supplant ¹⁴C dating for such antarctic lacustrine deposits.     

闽粤沿海老红砂的热释光测年

采用再生热释光法对来自福建和广东沿海地区的39个老红砂样品进行了测年,其年龄约在0.9~6.8万年之间,表明闽粤沿海的老红砂是晚更新世中、晚期形成的风成沉积。     

中国盐湖沉积年代学研究进展

盐湖沉积记录了区域气候和水文变化,是重要的古气候研究对象。年代学是盐湖古气候研究最重要的一项内容,是后续工作的基础。盐湖沉积最常用的定年方法有14C定年、铀系定年、光释光(OSL)定年、古地磁定年。受各种定年方法自身局限性以及盐湖沉积特殊性的制约,存在不同方法测出的年龄差异较大的现象。准确测定盐湖沉积的年代还较为困难,一定程度限制了盐湖古气候研究的发展。最新研究表明,由于盐湖沉积有机质含量低,易受现代碳的污染,14C测年中存在复杂的碳库效应,其14C年代老于30 cal ka BP时,测出的年龄可能被低估,需谨慎对待。未来需要加强铀系定年和光释光定年等方法在盐湖沉积中的基础研究,并开发新的更好的测年方法,提高盐湖沉积测年的准确度,为深入开展盐湖古气候变化及成盐成矿规律研究提供坚实基础。     

New progress and problems of Quaternary moraine dating in the Tibetan Plateau

Since the 20th century, numerous Quaternary moraine dating methods have emerged, including lichenometric, moraine 14C, quartz sand thermoluminescence （TL）, electron spin resonance （ESR）, optically stimulated luminescence （OSL） and 10Be, 26A1, 36C1, 3H, 21Ne nuclide dating methods. These dating methods are widely applied to determine moraine ages and have provided a large dataset. Unfortunately each method has its defects. In this paper, we will review these various dating methods and provide some comments.     

中国第四纪冰川演化序列与MIS对比研究的新进展

近年来,随着多种可对冰川地形进行直接定年的测年技术的发展与应用,中国第四纪冰川研究取得了新进展,较为突出的是获得了大量与地貌地层关系相符的年代学资料、建立了冰川演化若干典型范例以及进一步确立了青藏高原构造隆升与冰川发育的耦合关系。中国第四纪冰川演化序列与海洋氧同位素阶段(Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage,MIS) 比较经历了2000 年、2002 年两次立案与改进。笔者基于近年来新测得的年代学数据、已建立的冰川演化序列以及青藏高原隆升与冰川发育的耦合关系等新的研究资料,提出了中国冰期与海洋氧同位素阶段比较的2011 年改进方案,包括近百万年冰川变化的15 个特征时段及其对应的时间与中国冰期名称等信息。     

Late Devensian and Holocene landscape change in the uplands of the Isle of Man

The Late Glacial and Holocene geomorphology of the Manx uplands has received scant attention in previous researches. Solifluction deposits and terraces provide the earliest evidence for geomorphic activity after deglaciation. Fluvial incision into drift-choked valleys is correlated with the formation of the large mountain front alluvial fans that flank the Manx uplands. Formation of these alluvial fans is constrained to 15,000–10,500 cal. years BP by ¹⁴C dates on organic deposits beneath and above the alluvial fan gravels. Alluvial fan and river terraces along four valleys postdate this incision. Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) and ¹⁴C dating provide a tentative chronology for these landforms. The higher terraces are Late Glacial fluvial surfaces that were probably occupied by rivers into the Holocene. Incision during the Late Holocene led to the abandonment of the higher surfaces, producing a suite of younger river terraces and alluvial fan surfaces. Independent dating constrains this fluvial activity to post-Bronze Age (3500–2800 cal. years BP). Increased human activity and climatic change during the Late Holocene are possible causes for this increased geomorphic activity.     

SURFACE EXPOSURE DATING: REVIEW AND CRITICAL EVALUATION

The past decade has seen the development and application of over a dozen new methods for quantitative age-determinations of geomorphic surfaces. Some surface exposure dating methods are numerical, including the accumulation of cosmogenic radionuclides ¹⁰Be, ¹⁴C, ²⁶Al, ³⁶Cl, and ⁴¹Ca, accumulation of cosmogenic stable nuclides ³He and ²¹Ne, ¹⁴C dating of organic matter encapsulated in rock coatings, and dendrogeomorphology. Calendar ages are obtained by dendrogeomorphological analysis. Calibrated ages can be obtained by analysis of rock-varnish chemistry, lichenometry, weathering, and soils. Various methods can be used in combination to overcome individual limitations. Whereas conventional methods provide age control on stratigraphic profiles, surface-exposure dating methods are especially suitable for geographic problems, such as analyzing not only temporal, but also spatial variations in the rates of geomorphic processes. [Key words: geomorphology, process, geochronology, cosmogenic nuclides, Quaternary, surface exposure dating, rock varnish, weathering, soils.]     

Sediment focusing and210Pb dating: a new approach

In this paper we test the utility of the mud deposition boundary depth (mud DBD) theory (Rowanet al. 1992) as a means of maximizing sampling efficiency in paleolimnological investigations, particularly those that apply to²¹⁰Pb dating. The mud DBD is defined by the relationship between near bottom wave velocity and particle threshold velocity, with wave and particle threshold theory simplified to terms of exposure and depth. Mud DBD theory can be used to define the depositional zone in lakes, and within the depositional zone defined by the mud DBD: 1) there is a high probability of obtaining a representative core, 2) variation in mass sediment accumulation rate (MSAR) is not correlated with water depth, and 3) variation in MSAR is considerably reduced from the whole lake average. This suggests that mud DBD theory can account for the effects of sediment focusing, and that the mud DBD defined depositional zone is the zone to which fine-grained sediments are focused. Finally, we have shown that to optimize sampling effort, 5 to 10 cores within the depositional zone are necessary for a reasonably precise estimate of the mean mass sediment accumulation rate. In addition, the use of mud DBD theory prior to sampling can dramatically reduce the cost associated with analyzing large numbers of cores for²¹⁰Pb.This is the fifth of a series of papers to be published by this journal following the 20 ^th anniversary of the first application of²¹⁰Pb dating of take sediments. Dr P. G. Appleby is guest editing this series.     

AMS 14C dating of tundra lake sediments using chironomid head capsules

Radiocarbon dating of late-Quaternary sediments from high-latitude lakes is often complicated by the influx of old carbon, reservoir effects, or both. If terrestrial plant macrofossils are also absent, the dating of bulk sediment often provides the only means to establish chronologies for these problematic sediment sequences. Given that chironomid (non-biting midge) remains are sufficiently abundant in many northern lakes to be ¹⁴C-dated via the accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) method, we decided to explore their utility in age-model development. Five age determinations based on chironomid material were obtained from a lake sediment core sampled in the shrub tundra of northern Québec. These results were compared to six AMS bulk sediment ages, as well as to a date obtained from Drepanocladus spp. The chironomids yielded consistently younger ages (with increasing age offset upcore), confirming both the presence of a reservoir effect and the value of chironomids in establishing more reliable ¹⁴C chronologies.     

Comments on Jansson, K.N. and Glasser, N.F. (2008) “Modification of peripheral mountain ranges by former ice sheets: The Brecon Beacons, southern UK,” Geomorphology 97, 178–189

Jansson and Glasser (Jansson, K.N., Glasser, N.F., 2008. Modification of peripheral mountain ranges by former ice sheets: the Brecon Beacons, southern UK. Geomorphology 97, 178–189.) have recently provided unconventional interpretations of selected glacial erosional and depositional landforms in the Brecon Beacons, UK, based on remotely sensed imagery. These new interpretations contradict well-established and reliable evidence for the origins and ages of certain glacial landforms of this upland area and elsewhere. They suggest that during a post-Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) ice-sheet event ice flowed up supposed, essentially “fluvial” valleys producing “glacial lineations” and depositing marginal moraines at the valley heads and on cirque floors. We argue that their interpretations of some key landforms are incorrect and that they have ignored much of the previous dating and field geomorphological evidence. Sedimentary and morphological evidence (e.g., lack of erratic content; convex planform with respect to the headwall; relatively large height range of moraines; and close association with headwall extent, height, and steepness) all indicate that higher level cirque-floor and valley-head moraines in the Brecon Beacons (> c. 400 m) were formed by cirque glaciers. Available dating evidence indicates a Younger Dryas age. We demonstrate that the supposed “fluvial” valleys, comprising trough heads with steep headwalls, have more nearly parabolic than V-shaped cross profiles indicating substantial glacial modification. Field evidence shows that proposed key exemplar post-LGM glacial lineations are in fact debris flow deposits. We conclude that whilst the adoption of a macroscale approach can shed new light on large-scale, ice-sheet movements, this approach should not be undertaken without consideration of the associated field evidence.     

中国盐湖沉积年代学研究进展

盐湖沉积记录了区域的气候和水文变化,是重要的古气候研究对象。年代学是盐湖古气候研究最重要的一项内容,是后续几乎所有工作的基础。盐湖沉积最常用的定年方法有₁₄C定年、铀系定年、光释光(OSL)定年、古地磁定年。受各种定年方法自身的局限性以及盐湖沉积特有的沉积特征,存在不同方法测出的年龄差异较大的现象。准确测定盐湖沉积的年代还较为困难,一定程度制约了盐湖古气候研究的发展。由于盐湖沉积有机质含量低,易受现代碳的污染,其₁₄C年代老于30 cal ka BP时,测出的年龄可能已饱和,需要谨慎对待。未来需要加强铀系定年和光释光定年等方法在盐湖沉积中的基础研究,并开发新的更好的测年方法,提高盐湖沉积测年的准确度,为深入开展盐湖古气候变化及成盐成矿规律研究提供坚实基础。     

RADIOCARBON AGES ON ORGANICS FROM PIEDMONT ALLUVIUM,AJO MOUNTAINS,ARIZONA

Alluvium in dry lands is considered difficult to date by radiocarbon methods because of the paucity of organic matter. Although organic materials of sufficient size for conventional ¹⁴C dating are rare, wet sieving of alluvium in the Sonoran Desert yields sufficient organics for ¹⁴C measurements by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). Detrital charcoal from two Quaternary fluvial fill terraces on the western side of the Ajo Mountains yielded ¹⁴C ages of 14,880 ± 70 yr B.P. (CAMS-12408) for the Qt 1 terrace and 2490 ± 60 yr B.P. (CAMS-12414) and 2510 ± 60 yr B.P. (CAMS-12415) for the smaller inset Qt 2 terrace. These ¹⁴C ages are consistent with what is known about rates of soil development in the region. The earlier aggradation event appears to be supported by regional and possibly global climate change at about 14,000 ¹⁴C yr B.P. The more recent aggradation event does not appear to be synchronous with periods of frequent paleofloods in the southwest. The offset between ¹⁴C and ³⁶Cl ages for the same terraces provides a general indication of the time taken for the clasts to be transported to their current positions on the terraces. [Key words: soils, organic matter, 14C, 36Cl, Quaternary dating methods, piedmont, geomorphology, Sonoran Desert.]     

Thermoluminescenge and Uranium‐Thorium chronologies of pleistocene coastal landforms of the Illawarra region,New South Wales

TL determinations of the ages of aeolian sands and U/Th determinations of the ages of crusts on rock platforms in the Illawarra region, especially at Red Point, indicate that these techniques give considerable promise of a major advance in deciphering the Pleistocene coastal record in Australia. The methods of dating are outlined, and problems of laboratory and field interpretation are considered. The longstanding debate as to whether the +2 m level of platforms is modern or is a Pleistocene relict has been resolved for the Illawarra coast, where these platforms can be shown to have been formed during the Last Interglacial high stand of the sea. By inference, the +4 m level must be of at least the same age. The +6 to 7 m level was cut by about 300Ka and may be as old as Pliocene. Four aeolian units at Red Point reworked from nearby barrier beach complexes date from c. 25Ka, 45Ka, 125Ka, and 300 to >400Ka. Reconnaissance surveys and dating indicate that aeolian sands of similar ages occur elsewhere along the New South Wales coast.     

三峡库区长江阶地冲积物的年代测定

三峡库区的长江阶地是研究川江、峡江水系演变的重要证据。发育冲积物的阶地主要出现在库区西半部的川东和重庆的中低山、丘陵区,最多有6级。阶地研究中遇到的主要问题是难以确定阶地的形成时代。我们采用TL法和ESR法测量了三峡库区6个地点阶地的堆积年龄。测量数据显示,ESR法基本不适合测定三峡库区冲积物的年龄;尽管TL法本身存在缺陷,但测得的T1~T4的堆积年龄得到其他独立的测年结果的支持。阶地T1~T4的TL年龄依次为7~17 ka、28~46 ka、62~81 ka和103~105 ka。此外,根据年代地层对比的方法以及前人的古地磁测量结果,推测三峡库区第四级阶地的年龄大于101 ka,第五级阶地的年龄大于392 ka,而第六级阶地的年龄小于780 ka。从而初步建立了三峡库区阶地堆积的时间序列。     

Paleoenvironmental implications of new OSL dates on the formation of the “Shell Bar” in the Qaidam Basin,northeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

A geological feature in the Qaidam Basin known as the “Shell Bar” contains millions of freshwater clam shells buried in situ. Since the 1980s, this feature in the now hyper-arid basin has been interpreted to be lake deposits that provide evidence for a warmer and more humid climate than present during late marine isotope stage 3 (MIS 3). Global climate during late MIS 3 and the last glacial maximum, however, was cold and dry, with much lower sea levels. We re-investigated the feature geomorphologically and sedimentologically, and employed optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating to verify the chronology of the sediments. We interpret the Shell Bar to be a remnant of a river channel formed by a stream that ran across an exposed lake bed during a regressive lake phase. Deflation of the surrounding older, fine-grained lacustrine deposits has left the fluvial channel sediments topographically inverted, indicating the erosive nature of the landscape. Luminescence ages place the formation of the Shell Bar in MIS 5 (~113–99 ka), much older than previous radiocarbon ages of <40 ka BP, but place the paleoclimatic inferences more in accord with other regional and global climate proxy records. We present a brief review of the age differences derived from ¹⁴C and OSL dating of some critical sections that were thought to represent a warmer and more humid climate than present during late MIS 3. We attribute the differences to underestimation of ¹⁴C ages. We suggest that ¹⁴C ages older than ~25 ka BP may require re-investigation, especially dates on samples from arid regions.     

Comparison of radiocarbon and OSL dating methods for a Late Quaternary sediment core from Lake Ulaan,Mongolia

Both radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating methods were applied to test their suitability for establishing a chronology of arid-zone lacustrine sediments using a 5.88-m-long core drilled from Lake Ulaan, southern Mongolia. Although the radiocarbon and OSL ages agree in some samples, the radiocarbon ages are older than the corresponding OSL ages at the 550-cm depth horizon (late Pleistocene) and in the 100–300-cm interval (early to late Holocene). In the early to late Holocene, radiocarbon ages are consistently older than OSL ages by 4,100–5,800 years, and in the late Pleistocene by 2,700–3,000 years. Grain-size analysis of early to late Holocene sediments and one late Pleistocene sediment sample (550-cm depth) indicates that eolian processes were the dominant sediment-transport mechanism. Also, two late Pleistocene sediments samples (from 400- to 500-cm depths) are interpreted to have been deposited by both eolian and glaciofluvial processes. Accordingly, the radiocarbon ages that were older than the corresponding OSL ages during the Holocene seem to have been a consequence of the influx of ¹⁴C-deficient carbon delivered from adjacent soils and Paleozoic carbonate rocks by the westerly winds, a process that is also active today. In addition to the input of old reworked carbon by eolian processes, the late Pleistocene sediments were also influenced by old carbon delivered by deglacial meltwater. The results of this study suggest that when eolian sediment transport is suspected, especially in lakes of arid environments, the OSL dating method is superior to the radiocarbon dating method, as it eliminates a common ‘old-carbon’ error problem.     

祁连山东段河流阶地的形成时代与机制探讨

第四纪期间祁连山东段发育了多级洪积台地与河流阶地,它们是研究区域构造活动与气候变化良好的载体。对该区主要河流阶地序列的野外考察,利用ESR、TL、IRSL以及¹⁴C等测年方法,研究表明,第四纪期间石羊河上游的各大支流普遍发育了5-6级阶地,其中南营村附近金塔河五级河流阶地的形成时代大致为1.24MaB.P.(T₅)、0.78MaB.P.(T₄)、0.14MaB.P.(T₃)、0.06MaB.P.(T₂)和0.01MaB.P.(T₁),完全可以与该区沙沟河、黄河兰州段以及长江三峡段的阶地序列相对比。从各级阶地砾石层的堆积时代以及阶地的沉积特征分析,我们认为,即使在构造活动区域,气候变化在河流地貌演化过程之中起着重要的控制作用。     

湖泊碳库效应及校正方法

湖泊作为过去环境变化的信息载体,可以很好地提供高分辨率的连续记录,因此常被用来进行定年研究。湖泊沉积物放射性碳定年由于缺乏陆源植物残体、碳屑等可靠的定年材料,多选用其他材料（如全样有机质、水生残体及各类壳体）,但是这些材料通常受到“碳库效应”（The reservoir effect）的影响,而使得年代结果失真,导致难以建立高精度的年代框架,成为这一领域研究放射性碳年代应用的瓶颈。因此,如何对湖相沉积物¹⁴C年代结果进行有效的碳库效应校正,对高精度年代序列的建立具有重要意义。本文综览了近几十年来针对湖泊碳库效应进行研究所取得的一系列研究成果,详细总结了影响湖泊碳库效应的各种因素,讨论了碳库效应对湖泊沉积物定年结果的影响;分析了目前对湖泊碳库的各类校正方法,包括使用同一测年手段、不同测年材料建立点上碳库大小以及采用不同测年手段对碳库的校正等。本文为湖泊沉积物高精度年代序列的建立提供了一定的参考。     

粤琼“老红砂”的岩矿特征与成因研究

通过野外剖面观察,室内岩矿和沉积学分析,热释光测年分析等,认为粤琼等四纪老红砂为晚更新世晚期海岸风沙作用的产物,其物质来源于邻近的海滩砂,后在湿热的气候环境下风化,造成Ｓｉ,Ｋ,Ｎａ等元素的淋失和Ｆｅ,Ａｌ的富集。     

Assessing changes in nutrient status in the Richmond River estuary,Australia, using paleolimnological methods

Eutrophication from nutrient over-enrichment is a serious problem for the coastal zone and the estuarine environment globally. Australian estuaries are generally oligotrophic, but assessing whether they are becoming more eutrophic over time is inhibited by a lack of long-term monitoring data. The Richmond River, Australia, provided an ideal example of an estuary under anthropogenic pressure where the use of paleoecological techniques may potentially be used to reconstruct changes in nutrient status over time. Five cores were extracted from depositional areas in the Richmond River, and subjected to paleo-magnetic profiling and loss-on-ignition testing to ensure the core of greatest integrity was selected for further analytical work. Results from diatom and stable isotope analyses combined with ²¹⁰Pb and AMS ¹⁴C dating show a strong indication that the total phosphorus levels in the Richmond River have fluctuated since 1940. Evidence also suggests that these fluctuations are most likely a function of climate. This study has successfully applied paleolimnological techniques to the estuarine environment to produce information that can be used by environmental managers to aid decision making in relation to nutrient control for the Richmond River. Further work using paleolimnological techniques should be aimed at the extraction of a core containing diatoms that pre-date European settlement and include analyses of specific lipids and fatty acid biomarkers.