湖泊沉积物的14 C和光释光测年* ——以固城湖为例

富含有机质的湖泊沉积物被认为是¹⁴ C测年建立古环境记录年代标尺的理想材料,光释光测年方法近年开始应用于水成沉积物的定年。应用¹⁴ C和光释光两种方法对江苏固城湖湖心钻孔岩芯进行了年龄测定,结果表明全样有机质的¹⁴ C年龄与石英的光释光年龄存在系统差异,后者较前者年轻约2000年。系统光释光测年研究排除了光释光年龄低估的可能性,所以,二者的差异可能是湖泊沉积物碳库效应的反映。     

Chronology of a lacustrine core from Lake Linggo Co using a combination of OSL, 14C and 210Pb dating: implications for the dating of lacustrine sediments from the Tibetan Plateau

Vast palaeolakes once occupied the Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau (TP). Analyses of the sedimentary records of these lakes could potentially provide an extensive dating archive. Many previously constructed age‐depth models simulating lacustrine cores have been principally based on radiocarbon (¹⁴C) dating. However, such dating could have been hampered by the so‐called ‘lake reservoir effect’ (LRE) and the reworking of lakebed sediments, resulting in inaccurate ¹⁴C age‐depth models and limiting interpretations of existing lacustrine palaeoclimatic records. Lake Linggo Co is located on the central TP, in one of the coldest and most arid regions of Tibet. We dated a 9.87‐m‐long lacustrine core extracted from the lakebed at a water depth of ~60 m using a combination of ²¹⁰Pb, ¹⁴C and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) techniques. Some ¹⁴C ages showed significant age reversals; all the ¹⁴C ages were much older than the ²¹⁰Pb and OSL ages for the same depths. This could possibly be attributed to the presence of old, inherited carbon, causing the inherited ¹⁴C age to appear unstable during the deposition period. The ²¹⁰Pb and OSL ages were roughly concordant, and were also consistent with the stratigraphical succession. We therefore suggest that ¹⁴C dating may, on its own, be inadequate for accurate dating of lacustrine sediment sites on the TP, and that the OSL method should also be applied in order to evaluate the reliability of any ¹⁴C ages. With this approach, we constructed an age‐depth model, revealing sedimentation rates of 1.7, 0.8, 6.8 and 0.6 mm a⁻¹ between 0–1.9, 1.9–4.2, 4.2–4.4 and 4.4–9.4 ka, respectively.     

Single and multigrain quartz‐luminescence dating of irrigation‐channel features in Santa Fe,New Mexico

Acequias (irrigation channels and ditches) were used by Spanish settlers, their descendants, and Native Americans in New Mexico. Several such features were recently excavated in Santa Fe, but material for numeric dating was difficult to find. Therefore, for this high‐energy‐deposition irrigation‐feature setting we applied optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) sediment dating methods to determine the timing of last filling of some of these acequias. We report multigrain single‐aliquot quartz (MGSAQ) OSL dating results and the first single‐grain quartz (SGQ) OSL dating results for irrigation features. One sample yielded an average age of 96 ± 13 yr, consistent with the maximum expected age of 127 yr (before 2007). An OSL age of 175 ± 15 yr for another sample delimits a sedimentation event since the first construction of that feature ca. 300 yr ago. A sample known to be younger than 400–450 yr but predating the mid‐19th century gave an SGQ age of 376 ±31 yr. These results indicate that: (1) Regional quartz in New Mexico is highly favorable to OSL dating; (2) in this setting, SGQ OSL dating is preferred to MGSAQ dating; and (3) for the last 500–600 yr, SGQ OSL dating in such settings is preferred to ¹⁴C dating because OSL dating lacks those ambiguities inherent in converting ¹⁴C ages to calendar years. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

OSL dating of a Holocene loess-paleosol sequence in the southern Loess Plateau,China

Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of polymineral fine-grained loess samples collected from the southern Loess Plateau of China was conducted using the single-aliquot regenerative-dose (SAR) protocol. A ‘Double-SAR’ procedure in which aliquots are subjected to both infrared (IR) and blue stimulations was used, and two sets of equivalent dose (D _e ) determinations were produced. These doses are assumed to be predominantly related to the feldspathic and quartz fine grain populations, respectively. The results revealed that the OSL ages estimated by infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) signals and those estimated by [post-IR] stimulated luminescence ([post-IR] OSL) signals disagreed. Specifically, the ages estimated using the IRSL signals were smaller than those estimated using [post-IR] OSL signals. The results of an anomalous fading test of the two types of OSL signals revealed that the [post-IR] OSL signals from the etched sub-sample (by H₂SiF₆ and HF) and the un-etched sub-sample did not fade significantly. However, the IRSL signals from the un-etched sub-sample showed obvious signs of fading. These findings indicate that the lower age estimated by IRSL is due to the anomalous fading of feldspar IR signals in the polymineral fine grains. For samples collected from greater than 100 cm, the estimates of their OSL ages using two types of luminescence signals generally agreed with their pre-estimated ages, especially those of the [post-IR] OSL signals. However, for the three samples that were collected from a depth of less than 100 cm, their OSL ages were remarkably underestimated, possibly due to the enhanced human activity (such as soil cultivation) that has occurred in the region since 3000 a B.P.     

OSL dating of the Middle Palaeolithic Hotel California site,Sierra de Atapuerca,north‐central Spain

In this study we present optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating results obtained at one of the most important open‐air Middle Palaeolithic sites in the Sierra de Atapuerca foothills – Hotel California. We also assess the possibility of obtaining extended‐range OSL chronologies for a nearby Middle Pleistocene fluvial deposit using several novel methods, namely OSL dating of individual quartz ‘supergrains’, multi‐grain aliquot thermally transferred OSL (TT‐OSL) dating and the first application of a single‐grain TT‐OSL dating procedure. Four single‐grain OSL ages constrain the Middle Palaeolithic occupation of Hotel California to between 71±6 and 48±3 ka. The Hotel California single‐grain equivalent dose (D_e) distributions are highly overdispersed and contain several dose populations, which are probably attributable to post‐depositional sediment mixing, partial bleaching and intrinsic scatter. The reliability of multi‐grain aliquot OSL dating is compromised by the complex underlying D_e dispersion affecting these samples, as well as by biasing multi‐grain averaging effects. Extended‐range OSL and TT‐OSL chronologies for the nearby Pico River terrace are consistent with each other and with broad independent age control. These experimental approaches yield a weighted average age of 348±16 ka for terrace T_A9 of the Arlanzón River sequence. Our results highlight the benefits of comparing ages obtained using several OSL methodologies to improve the robustness of luminescence chronologies. They also demonstrate the potential that single‐grain OSL techniques offer for establishing improved age constraints on the many other Middle Palaeolithic sites found at Atapuerca and elsewhere across north‐central Spain.     

An interglacial polar bear and an early Weichselian glaciation at Poolepynten,western Svalbard

The recent discovery of a subfossil polar bear (Ursus maritimus) jawbone in the Poolepynten coastal cliff sequence, western Svalbard, and its implications for the natural history of the polar bear motivated an effort to better constrain the environmental history and age envelope of the Poolepynten sediment sequence. The focus of the present study is on the lithostratigraphy of the coastal cliffs and on re‐dating the sequence using the Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating technique. We report a revised lithostratigraphy and nine new OSL ages. It is concluded that the Poolepynten sequence contains evidence of four regional glaciation events, recorded in the strata as erosional unconformities or glacial deposits followed by shallow‐marine deposition signifying transgressions and subsequent glacio‐isostatic rebound and regression. Our OSL ages refine previous age determinations (¹⁴C and IRSL) and support the interpretation that the subfossil polar bear jawbone is probably of last interglacial (Eemian) age.     

Comparison of SAR techniques for luminescence dating of sediments derived from volcanic tuff

In this investigation we evaluate several proposed optically stimulated luminescence single-aliquot regeneration (OSL SAR) procedures to determine which technique has the greatest potential to yield accurate ages for samples collected from tuff-derived alluvial sediments within the narrow, sharply incised canyon systems of the Pajarito Plateau of northern New Mexico. The SAR data collection methods evaluated are: infrared-stimulated luminescence (IRSL), post-IR blue-OSL, IRSL with TL annealing cycles on polymineral fine-grains, and blue-OSL on quartz fine sand. A single-grain laser luminescence (SGLL) procedure for quartz sand is also evaluated. Age estimates obtained from these methods are compared with radiocarbon, soil PDI (profile development index), and IRSL multi-aliquot additive dose (MAAD) age constraints. Our results indicate that the modal D_e of quartz sand SGLL dose distributions yield ages that are consistent with radiocarbon and PDI age constraints for the tuff derived sediments in this investigation and appears to be the most promising method for studies in this area. Additionally, two fine-grained polymineral methods, IRSL SAR and traditional IRSL MAAD, produced ages that were generally in agreement with the SGLL ages and with available ¹⁴C and PDI age constraints. At the present stage of research, we advocate using quartz sand SGLL in conjunction with IRSL SAR or even IRSL MAAD for polymineral fine-grains to provide the most robust and reliable luminescence age data sets for tuff-derived sediments.     

博斯腾湖湖泊沉积物光释光年代测量*

使用光释光年代学的单片再生法测量了博斯腾湖沉积剖面中碳酸盐泥及粉砂质泥底部的浅湖相灰色粉细砂和风成沙的年龄,对剖面上部碳酸盐层中陆生植物残体进行了AMS ¹⁴ C测年。通过不同测片的等效剂量(D_e)值的分布状况评价了样品的晒褪程度,选择不随灵敏度校正后的自然释光信号变化的相对集中的等效剂量(D_e)值计算了样品的埋藏年龄。通过这些年龄结果的对比,发现石英矿物的OSL年龄和AMS ¹⁴ C年龄在地层上是一致的,表明尽管在浅湖相细砂中存在不完全晒褪,但根据相对较小而集中的D_e值计算得到的年龄结果是可靠的。这些年龄结果和地层资料揭示末次冰消期以来至早全新世,博斯腾湖处于无水干盆地向深水湖泊转化的浅水湖泊状态,现代深水博斯腾湖大约形成于距今8ka前后。     

Age limit and age underestimation using different OSL signals from lacustrine quartz and polymineral fine grains

As part of a systematic palaeohydrological reconstruction of lake level fluctuations during the Last Glacial Maximum, a transect of cores from ancient Lake Xinias in central Greece has already been studied with respect to pollen, sediment and mineral magnetic analyses. The chronology was based on ¹⁴C AMS dating of terrestrial plant macrofossil remains from peat and clayey peat (Palaeogeog. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 158 (2000) 65). This site thus provides an opportunity for the comparison of fine grain optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages of water–lain sediments with an independent chronology. We present here infrared (IR), post-IR blue and blue OSL characteristics of the fine grain sediments from Lake Xinias and a preliminary comparison with independent ages. The equivalent doses based on the IR results are about 40% of those based on post-IR blue stimulation, which in turn are 10–15% below those based on quartz OSL. We discuss the ages derived from the 3 signals in terms of the independent chronology, and draw conclusions about initial bleaching of the quartz and feldspar components, and the reliability of the post-IR blue signal as a chronometer.     

The onset of dune formation in the Strzelecki Desert,South Australia

This study is concerned with the Late Quaternary climatic chronology of the Strzelecki Desert dunefields in central Australia. The sand ridges comprise layers of quartz sand, some of which include palaeosol horizons with carbonated rootlets providing excellent opportunity for dating of alternations of dune building and stability by using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL). Deduced from the OSL age of the oldest aeolian layer dated, we conclude that the onset of aridity dates back to at least ∼65 ka. Older phases of aeolian activity though, following a fluvial depositional phase 160 ka ago, cannot be excluded, although no aeolian layers giving evidence for this have been found in the two dunes dated here. Unconsolidated dune sands in the upper part of one section with Late Holocene (4 ka to modern) depositional ages indicate a reactivation of the dunefield in recent times.From the crosscheck of ¹⁴C ages of the carbonated rootlets with OSL results it is concluded that under the given environmental conditions radiocarbon dating of the calcareous rootlets is not able to provide reliable ages for the phase of soil development.     

Baota landslide in the Three Gorges area and its OSL dating

Large old landslides are common in the Three Gorges area. Baota landslide, a large rockslide, is one of the largest landslides in the Three Gorges area. In the landslide body there are two terraces to be recognized. The two terrace deposits is not a two-grade terrace, but mainly remnants left by an occurrence of Baota landslide. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating suggests that the age of the terrace deposits is 38–32 kyr BP. The OSL ages along with other Thermoluminescence (TL) and Radiocarbon (¹⁴C) ages support the conclusion that the Baota landslide was originally triggered by strong precipitation occurred in a warm climate period of 30,000–40,000 years BP.     

南京市区埋藏古河道沉积物的年代

埋藏古河道沉积物年代学框架的建立对于探讨当地水系演变过程、重建气候演化历史具有重要意义。本文用光释光(OSL)测年中的简单多片再生法(SMAR)和单片再生法(SAR)对南京市区汉府街埋藏古河道堆积物钻孔样品进行了光释光测年,对岩芯中含有的植物碎片进行了AMS 14C测年。光释光等效剂量(De)的预热坪实验表明,在 200～260℃的预热温度范围内均能获得基本一致的De值,并得到了剂量恢复实验支持。样品的光释光年龄和树轮校正的AMS 14C年龄吻合,结果显示N06S6孔秦淮河古河道沉积是不连续的,主要堆积于6.6ka至7.9ka期间和14ka至15ka期间。末次冰盛期期间,秦淮河下切形成深达至少42m的古河谷。     

A luminescence dating study of the sediment stratigraphy of the Lajia Ruins in the upper Yellow River valley,China

Pedo-sedimentological fieldwork were carried out in the Lajia Ruins within the Guanting Basin along the upper Yellow River valley. In the eolian loess-soil sections on the second river terrace in the Lajia Ruins, we find that the land of the Qijia Culture (4.20–3.95 ka BP) are fractured by several sets of earthquake fissures. A conglomerated red clay covers the ground of the Qijia Culture and also fills in the earthquake fissures. The clay was deposited by enormous mudflows in association with catastrophic earthquakes and rainstorms. The aim of this study is to provide a luminescence chronology of the sediment stratigraphy of the Lajia Ruins. Eight samples were taken from an eolian loess-soil section (Xialajia section) in the ruins for optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating. The OSL ages are in stratigraphic order and range from (31.94 ± 1.99) ka to (0.76 ± 0.02) ka. Combined OSL and ¹⁴C ages with additional stratigraphic correlations, a chronological framework is established. We conclude that: (1) the second terrace of the upper part of Yellow River formed 35.00 ka ago, which was followed by the accumulation of the eolian loess-soil section; and (2) the eolian loess-soil section is composed of the Malan Loess of the late last glacial (MIS-2) and Holocene loess-soil sequences.     

Determination of slip rate by optical dating of fluvial deposits from the Wangsan fault,SE Korea

The time-integrated slip rate in fault zones can be determined if the deformed deposits are reliably dated. Here, we report optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages of Late Pleistocene fluvial deposits cut by the Wangsan fault, southeastern Korea, which displaces a hanging wall block of about 28 m. Five sandy samples of the deformed Quaternary deposits were dated by quartz OSL using the single aliquot regenerative-dose (SAR) protocol. Three samples taken from the footwall block show stratigraphically consistent OSL ages of 54±7, 76±5 and 90±6 ka, from top to bottom. Two samples collected from the same layer in the hanging wall block show reproducible OSL ages of 81±5 and 82±5 ka, which are also in good agreement with the stratigraphic relationships. Our OSL ages yield an average sedimentation rate of the Quaternary deposits as around 0.04 mm a⁻¹, and a minimum value of time-integrated slip rate as 0.52 mm a⁻¹. This minimum slip rate is considerably higher than those reported earlier for Quaternary faults in southeastern Korea. The youngest OSL age (54±7 ka) constrains the maximum value of the recurrence interval of the fault movement.     

Progress towards single-grain optical dating of fossil mud-wasp nests and associated rock art in northern Australia

Here we report on investigations into optical dating of fossil mud-wasp nests as a means of constraining the ages of overlying and underlying rock paintings in northern Australia. We describe the application of a ‘dual-signal’ regenerative-dose approach, using the easy-to-bleach (‘fast’) and hard-to-bleach (‘slow’) components of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) emitted by individual sand-sized grains of quartz extracted from two nests: a modern nest (<2 yr old) and a nest dated by ¹⁴C to about 30,000 calendar years (∼30 ka). For the modern nest, most of the palaeodoses obtained from both the fast and slow components are consistent with a zero age, while the ¹⁴C-dated nest yielded an age of 27.1±1.5 ka from those grains that yielded concordant palaeodoses from the fast and slow components (as measured by linearly modulated OSL). Our findings indicate that a dual-signal approach permits grains that were fully bleached by sunlight at the time of nest construction, and that have since remained concealed in the light-safe ‘core’ of a nest, to be distinguished from (a) grains that were incompletely bleached before nest construction, and (b) grains embedded in the continuously light-exposed, exterior portion of a nest. We conclude that reliable optical ages for small mud-wasp nests associated with ancient rock art may be obtained using the dual-signal approach and the light-safe grains.     

Dating recent floodplain sediments in the Hawkesbury‐Nepean River system,eastern Australia using single‐grain quartz OSL

Two fluvial sediment cores taken from a floodplain of the Hawkesbury‐Nepean River system in the Sydney region, eastern Australia are dated using Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) to provide a reliable chronology essential for the management and planning of water resources. Nine charcoal ¹⁴C (AMS) dates constrain these OSL ages. Quartz extracted from seven OSL samples from each of the cores was measured using both single‐grain and multi‐grain OSL techniques. Three of the single‐grain natural dose distributions appear to be well bleached, but the others appear to be incompletely bleached to various degrees. Three minimum‐age models (MAM, MAM_UL and IEU) are applied to the single‐grain dose distributions. We conclude that these models give consistent age estimates. For one of the cores it appears to be necessary to use a minimum‐age model to obtain accurate ages, but in the other core incomplete bleaching is probably less important than postdepositional mixing and mixing during sampling. As a result, the burial age is probably best estimated using the weighted average of the individual single‐grain dose estimates. The application of multi‐grain OSL techniques to these samples results in an average apparent age overestimation of ～200 years, which is significant for these samples, but negligible for sediments older than a few thousand years. The intention is that the chronology obtained in this study will be used in conjunction with a proxy flood record, derived from floodplain sediments, to gain an understanding of the long‐term variability in periods of high and low rainfall in eastern Australia.     

Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating of sand‐filled wedge structures and their fine‐grained host sediment from Jonzac,SW France

Two sand wedge structures and their host sediments, from Jonzac in SW France, were successfully dated using Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) measurements on both small aliquots and single grains of quartz from the 180–212 μm size fraction. One of the sand wedges clearly contains primary infilling. However, grain‐size analysis and field observations do not clearly indicate whether the other feature represents a primary sand wedge or a composite sand wedge with primary and secondary infilling. OSL results and the geological setting justify using the Central Age Model (CAM) for the calculation of age estimates. Grain‐size analysis and detailed investigations of OSL results revealed the contamination of one sand wedge sample with host sediment. However, age calculation using the Finite Mixture Model (FMM) provided what is considered to be a reliable age estimate for the contaminated sample. The age estimates for all samples correspond to Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3. While fine‐grained sediments were deposited in the middle of MIS 3 (c. 43–55 ka), the sand wedges unexpectedly correspond to the end of this period (c. 33 ka) or the onset of MIS 2 (c. 27 ka). The sand wedges were probably formed during intense but short cold periods, possibly correlated with a Heinrich event (H2 and/or H3). The results help us to assess how effective luminescence dating is on sand wedges and the limitations involved in correlating sand wedge ages with Heinrich events, and contribute to the debate on the timing of cryogenic formation processes and the permafrost distribution in SW France.     

Apparent OSL ages of modern deposits from Fåbergstølsdalen,Norway: implications for sampling glacial sediments

The application of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating within glacial settings can be limited where sediments have not had their OSL signal fully reset by sunlight exposure. Heterogeneous bleaching can result in age overestimations, and although it is recognized that certain depositional settings are more likely to have experienced sufficient sunlight exposure to bleach the OSL signal, no comprehensive study has empirically investigated the processes of sediment bleaching, or the variability in bleaching between deposits of the same type and within the same glacial catchment. A suite of modern glacial and glaciofluvial sediments from Fåbergstølsdalen, southern Norway, have been analysed to explore the controls that sedimentary processes and depositional setting have on bleaching of the OSL signal of quartz. There is considerable variability in the residual OSL ages of similar modern deposits, which reflects high sensitivity of the OSL signal to sediment source, sedimentary process, transport distance and depositional setting. Overdispersion values are greatest for the sediments which have been most heterogeneously bleached and these sediments have the lowest residual ages. Sampling strategies that incorporate sufficient consideration of the depositional framework of sample settings can minimize the effects of unbleached residuals on OSL age determinations.     

Dust deposition and climate in the Carpathian Basin over an independently dated last glacial–interglacial cycle

Loess in the Carpathian Basin is some of the thickest and most complete in Europe. Located in the Vojvodina region of the southern Carpathian Basin the Crvenka loess-palaeosol section appears to preserve a detailed climate proxy archive of the last glacial–interglacial cycle. Central to the interpretation of the site is a detailed and independent age model. Here, the results of detailed optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating and elevated temperature post-IR infrared stimulated luminescence (post-IR IRSL) dating are presented. Quartz OSL ages appear accurate to about 50–60 ka, where 2D₀ values are reached, while elevated temperature post-IR IRSL yields more accurate ages below this. In line with recent results, the latter signal appears to show negligible fading rates. Two age models are developed that combine (a) OSL and post-IR IRSL ages and (b) OSL ages and ‘expected’ ages from tying unit boundaries to the marine record. If the luminescence model is regarded as accurate, differences between this and the OSL/marine age model raise questions over the accuracy of the latter, as well as the processes controlling the zeroing of luminescence dates. The luminescence based age model is then used to derive the first fully independent reconstruction of climate proxies and accumulation rates from Carpathian loess. Such reconstructions can be used to compare to other independent records without assumptions inherent in correlation-based approaches. The findings demonstrate how variable accumulation rate is at the site, and compared to other independently dated Carpathian loess records. Average values vary north–south but are of similar order throughout the basin. Accumulation rate was highest during the later part of the last glacial, but variation on millennial timescales does not always match shifts in grain-size, suggesting diverse and complex influences. Environmental reconstructions using grain-size and magnetic susceptibility show that no one atmospheric system or air mass can explain the changes in the Carpathian Basin and that millennial-scale variability can only intermittently be tied to North Atlantic Heinrich events. Expanded ice sheets during the peak last glacial, combined with other atmospheric teleconnections, may have served to develop a strong anticyclone in the region. It was likely windier during earlier parts of the last glacial, but Atlantic and Mediterranean moisture was probably less abundant than during more humid interglacials.     

The resolution of stratigraphic inconsistency in the luminescence ages of marine terrace sediments from Korea

Several sets of marine terraces are exposed along the southeastern coast of the Korean peninsula. The formation ages of these terraces have attracted considerable attention because they provide essential information on local crustal stability. Over the last few years considerable effort has been put into the determination of these ages using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of the marine sediments from which the terraces were built. For several sites, the results of dose recovery tests and other OSL characteristics, including the dependence of equivalent dose on heat treatment prior to stimulation, have been described in detail elsewhere (Quat. Sci. Rev. 22 (2003) 407). However, it has been found that the samples from one site exhibit various undesirable OSL characteristics, which result in stratigraphically inconsistent OSL ages. In this paper, we investigate these characteristics, and use luminescence component separation to resolve this inconsistency. The resolved OSL ages obtained as such are then used for the discussion on the local crustal stability of the southeastern coast of Korea during the Late Pleistocene.