Luminescence dating of well-sorted marine terrace sediments on the southeastern coast of Korea

Along the southeastern coastline of the Korean peninsula, well-developed marine terraces are found at various elevations. The ages of these terraces, and the time of deposition of the terrace sediments are important to our understanding of the geological history of this area during the Quaternary period, and represent a unique record of the regional tectonic activity. Previous efforts to establish a chronology using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) methods have produced controversial results, particularly because of stratigraphic inconsistency and poor reproducibility. In this paper, the application of OSL dating based on the single-aliquot regenerative-dose (SAR) protocol for quartz is investigated. The dependence of equivalent dose on the preheat and cut-heat temperatures (thermal treatment of the regeneration and test-doses, respectively) are examined. Linearly modulated luminescence signals from chemically cleaned quartz samples are used to identify the presence of a thermally unstable component with a large optical cross-section (component A′), which in part affects the ability to correct for sensitivity changes during measurements, and thus the reliability of the equivalent dose estimates. In some samples, a higher heat treatment after the test-dose is shown to improve our ability to measure a dose given in the laboratory before any heat treatment (dose recovery test). This higher temperature treatment effectively removes component A′, and hence improves sensitivity correction. Furthermore, the samples were broadly divided into poorly sorted and well-sorted, based on field evidence. The poorly sorted samples contain friable, weathered gravel clasts, which is a likely post-depositional source of quartz grains. In general, these grains will not have been zeroed prior to deposition, and so the poorly sorted samples are rejected from further age studies. Results obtained from the well-sorted samples are reproducible at each sampling location, and give ages grouping broadly into 50–70 and 110–120 ka, but laterally discontinuous on a scale of tens of km. Our OSL results for the younger group are supported by radiocarbon ages from overlying terrestrial deposits. It is concluded that these results point to considerable tectonic activity in the southeast of Korea during the Late Pleistocene.     

Radiocarbon and Luminescence Age Determinations on Mounds at Crystal River and Roberts Island,Florida, USA

Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) has been employed successfully to determine the ages of palaeosols from earthen mounds in the southeastern USA, providing archaeologists with a means of dating monument construction in the absence of carbonaceous materials and geologists with a setting for understanding factors that can affect the luminescence intensity (i.e., burial dose) of soils. However, OSL dating has not been adequately tested on mounds whose principal component is sand, shell, or a combination of these two, despite the fact that monuments composed of such materials are common to the coasts and interior coastal plains of the region. Radiocarbon dating of bone collagen and soil‐carbon and OSL dating of quartz grains extracted from the fill of mounds at the Crystal River and Roberts Island sites on the west‐central coast of Florida, USA are used to determine the timing and history of mound construction at the sites. Comparison of OSL and radiocarbon ages on materials from the same or closely related contexts provides insight into factors influencing age determinations in mound fill deposits, particularly the type of construction material (sand or shell) and the manner in which these were deposited. The results contribute to the understanding of the temporal context of platform mound construction in southeastern USA.     

Anomalously high uplift rates along the Ventura—Santa Barbara Coast, California—tectonic implications

The NW—SE trending segments of the California coastline from Point Arena to Point Conception (500 km) and from Los Angeles to San Diego (200 km) generally parallel major right-lateral strike-slip fault systems. Minor vertical crustal movements associated with the dominant horizontal displacements along these fault systems are recorded in local sedimentary basins and slightly deformed marine terraces. Typical maximum uplift rates during Late Quaternary time are about 0.3 m/ka, based on U-series ages of corals and amino-acid age estimates of fossil mollusks from the lowest emergent terraces.In contrast, the E–W-trending segments of the California coastline between Point Conception and Los Angeles (200 km) parallel predominantly northward-dipping thrust and high-angle reverse faults of the western Transverse Ranges. Along this coast, marine terraces display significantly greater vertical deformation. Amino-acid age estimates of mollusks from elevated marine terraces along the Ventura—Santa Barbara coast imply anomalously high uplift rates of between 1 and 6 m/ka over the past 40 to 100 ka. The deduced rate of terrace uplift decreases from Ventura to Los Angeles, conforming with a similar trend observed by others in contemporary geodetic data.The more rapid rates of terrace uplift in the western Transverse Ranges reflect N—S crustal shortening that is probably a local accommodation of the dominant right-lateral shear strain along coastal California.     

Eustatic control of late Quaternary sea-level change in the Arabian/Persian Gulf

Accurate sea-level reconstruction is critical in understanding the drivers of coastal evolution. Inliers of shallow marine limestone and aeolianite are exposed as zeugen (carbonate-capped erosional remnants) on the southern coast of the Arabian/Persian Gulf. These have generally been accepted as evidence of a eustatically driven, last-interglacial relative sea-level highstand preceded by a penultimate glacial-age lowstand. Instead, recent optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating suggests a last glacial age for these deposits, requiring > 100 m of uplift since the last glacial maximum in order to keep pace with eustatic sea-level rise and implying the need for a wholesale revision of tectonic, stratigraphic and sea-level histories of the Gulf. These two hypotheses have radically different implications for regional neotectonics and land–sea distribution histories. Here we test these hypotheses using OSL dating of the zeugen formations. These new ages are remarkably consistent with earlier interpretations of the formations being last interglacial or older in age, showing that tectonic movements are negligible and eustatic sea-level variations are responsible for local sea-level changes in the Gulf. The cause of the large age differences between recent studies is unclear, although it appears related to large differences in the measured accumulated dose in different OSL samples.     

河南渑池仰韶人遗址区黄土冲沟阶地的释光测年研究

地貌变迁与古人类活动的关系一直是地理学研究的一个重要科学问题。仰韶文化是黄河流域最为重要的新石器人类 文明之一，文章以河南渑池仰韶遗址区内西沟冲沟为研究对象，尝试建立仰韶人类活动与遗址区内冲沟地貌形成的先后关 系。渑池仰韶遗址区地处黄土高原东南缘黄土堆积区，文章利用释光测年方法测定了西沟冲沟阶地上覆堆积黄土的年代， 粗略重建了阶地形成的时间为大约距今3万年和12万年前，分别对应深海氧同位素（MIS） 3阶段和5阶段。而该时期渑池 仰韶区域尚无古人类活动记录，所以释光测年结果证明仰韶遗址区内的冲沟完全是自然成因的，与遗址区仰韶人的地表活 动无关。     

河南渑池仰韶人遗址区黄土冲沟阶地的释光测年研究

地貌变迁与古人类活动的关系一直是地理学研究的一个重要科学问题。仰韶文化是黄河流域最为重要的新石器人类 文明之一,文章以河南渑池仰韶遗址区内西沟冲沟为研究对象,尝试建立仰韶人类活动与遗址区内冲沟地貌形成的先后关 系。渑池仰韶遗址区地处黄土高原东南缘黄土堆积区,文章利用释光测年方法测定了西沟冲沟阶地上覆堆积黄土的年代, 粗略重建了阶地形成的时间为大约距今3万年和12万年前,分别对应深海氧同位素（MIS） 3阶段和5阶段。而该时期渑池 仰韶区域尚无古人类活动记录,所以释光测年结果证明仰韶遗址区内的冲沟完全是自然成因的,与遗址区仰韶人的地表活 动无关。     

藏东南波堆藏布江谷地古冰碛堰塞湖初步研究

藏东南作为青藏高原内外动力作用最强烈的地区之一,是河流堰塞-溃决洪水链式灾害频发地区。研究该区域古堰塞湖的形成与演化,对认识、评估灾害风险具有重要意义。研究结果表明,波堆藏布江谷地保存有一套湖相沉积地层,通过地貌填图和光释光测年等手段,并结合前人研究成果,推测海因里希事件1(H1)以来波堆藏布江谷地可能发生了一期古堰塞湖事件。该古堰塞湖可能是由波堆藏布江侧蚀白玉沟沟口冰碛垄,致使冰碛物滑塌并阻江形成的,古湖的最大湖面面积约为18.8km2,库容蓄水量约为0.13km3。该古堰塞湖的形成时间可能介于H1～10ka之间,其溃决时间可能在～6ka之后,后期河流溯源侵蚀及下切作用形成了多级以湖相地层为基座的阶地。     

Neotectonics and recent uplift at Kamchatka and Aleutian arc junction, Kamchatka Cape area, NE Russia

The tectonic position of the Kamchatka Cape Peninsula at the junction of the active Kuril–Kamchatka and Aleutian arcs exposes the coastline of the peninsula to strong neotectonic activities. Fracture zones have variable influence on uplift of the Kamchatka Cape Peninsula. Relevant morphologic indicators of neotectonic activity are multilevel, highly uplifted marine terraces and terraces displaced along active faults. Recent uplift rates of coastal sediments are determined by remote sensing via ASTER and SRTM DEM combined with optically stimulated luminescence dating (OSL). On the Kamchatka Cape Peninsula, terraces from the same generation are mapped at different elevations by remote sensing methods. After defining different areas of uplifted terraces, four neotectonic blocks are identified. According to apatite fission track data, the mean differential exhumation rates range from 0.2 to 1.2 mm year^?1 across the blocks since Late Miocene. The OSL data presented point to significant higher uplift rates of up to 3 ± 0.5 and 4.3 ± 1 mm year^?1, which indicates an acceleration of the vertical movement along the coast of Kamchatka Cape Peninsula in Upper Pleistocene and Holocene times.     

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.     

西藏东南部末次冰期早阶段冰川作用及其古气候意义

西藏东南部的"古乡冰期"和"白玉冰期"是划分中国第四纪冰期的蓝本.其中,白玉冰期即末次冰期,分为早阶段和晚阶段,相对应的冰川沉积广泛分布于本区的波堆藏布谷地.已有的冰川数值年代结果显示,末次冰期晚阶段的冰川作用发生于海洋氧同位素阶段(MIS)2.然而,关于早阶段的冰进记录,目前却未有确切的年代学证据,此次冰川作用究竟发...     

Infrared stimulated luminescence dating of an Eemian (MIS 5e) site in Denmark using K‐feldspar

Buylaert, J.‐P., Huot, S., Murray, A.S. & Van den haute, P.: Infrared stimulated luminescence dating of an Eemian (MIS 5e) site in Denmark using K‐feldspar. Boreas, 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2010.00156.x. ISSN 0300‐9483. Infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) dating of K‐feldspars may be an alternative to quartz optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating when the quartz OSL signal is too close to saturation or when the quartz luminescence characteristics are unsuitable. In this paper, Eemian (MIS 5e) coastal marine sands exposed in a cliff section on the coast of southern Jutland (Denmark) are used to test the accuracy and precision of IRSL dating using K‐feldspars. This material has been used previously to test quartz OSL dating ( Murray & Funder 2003 ): a small systematic underestimation of <10% compared to the expected age of ～130 ka was reported. In our study, a single‐aliquot regenerative‐dose (SAR) IRSL protocol is used to determine values of equivalent dose (D_e) and the corresponding fading rates (g values). A significant age underestimation (of up to ～35%) is observed; this is attributed to anomalous fading. Using a single site‐average fading rate of 3.66 ± 0.09%/decade to correct the IRSL ages for all samples provides good agreement between the average fading‐corrected K‐feldspar age (119 ± 6 ka) and the independent age control (132–125 ka). This is despite the reservations of Huntley & Lamothe (2001) that their fading correction method is not expected to work on samples older than ～20–50 ka. This fading‐corrected feldspar result is not significantly different from the overall revised quartz age (114 ± 7 ka) also presented here. We conclude that fading‐corrected IRSL ages measured using K‐feldspar may be both precise and accurate over a greater age range than might be otherwise expected.     

Resolving the Holocene alluvial record in southeastern Australia using luminescence and radiocarbon techniques

A previous assessment of radiocarbon (¹⁴C) dates from alluvial units in southeastern Australia revealed a gap in the geochronological record that coincides with the Holocene climatic optimum. This gap in the alluvial record can be further refined using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL). The chronology of Holocene river terraces on Widden Brook, a sandy alluvial stream in southeastern Australia, was established using ¹⁴C and OSL techniques. Combined use of these independent techniques allows for a more rigorous assessment of the alluvial record. The robust chronology, consisting of 38 ¹⁴C and 11 OSL samples, permitted identification of significant depositional variation within the catchment, resulting from localised geomorphic processes. The three terrace sequences identified yielded distinct chronologies, suggesting alluvial deposition at different times. The sequences exhibited a continuous chronology, which indicated continuous deposition throughout the Holocene. The chronology of terrace sequences within this catchment suggests that terrace formation can be attributed to localised geomorphic processes rather than climatic forcing. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The geology and morphology of the Antakya Graben between the Amik Triple Junction and the Cyprus Arc

In southeastern Turkey, the NE-trending Antakya Graben forms an asymmetric depression filled by Pliocene marine siliciclastic sediment, Pleistocene to Recent fluvial terrace sediment, and alluvium. Along the Mediterranean coast of the graben, marine terrace deposits sit at different elevations ranging from 2 to 180 m above present sea level, with ages ranging from MIS 2 to 11. A multisegmented, dominantly sinistral fault lying along the graben may connect the Cyprus Arc in the west to the Amik Triple Junction on the Dead Sea Fault (DSF) in the east. Normal faults, which are younger than the sinistral ones, bound the graben’s southeastern margin. The westward escape of the continental ?skenderun Block, delimited by sinistral fault segments belonging to the DSF in the east and the Eastern Anatolian Fault in the north caused the development of a sinistral transtensional tectonic regime, which has opened the Antakya Graben since the Pliocene. In the later stages of this opening, normal faults developed along the southeastern margin that caused the graben to tilt to the southwest, leading to differential uplift of Mediterranean coastal terraces. Most of these normal faults remain active. In addition to these tectonic movements, Pleistocene sea level changes in the Mediterranean affected the geomorphological evolution of the area.     

天山乌鲁木齐河源末次冰期冰川沉积光释光测年

乌鲁木齐河源地区是中国冰川遗迹保存最丰富、地貌最典型的区域之一,是根据冰川遗迹重建第四纪冰川历史的理想地区。大量的研究工作以及技术测年结果也使其成为试验冰川沉积光释光（optically stimulated luminescence,OSL）测年可行性的理想地点。共采集了6个冰碛及上覆黄土样品用于光释光测年。提取38~63 μm的石英颗粒,运用SAR-SGC法测试等效剂量。各种检验表明测试程序是适用的。通过地貌地层关系、重复样品、已有年代的对比等方法,检验该地冰川沉积OSL测年的可行性。结果表明,OSL年代结果与地貌地层新老关系非常吻合,与已有的其他测年技术的年代结果也具可比性,表明这些样品的OSL信号在沉积之前晒退较好,OSL年代是可信的。冰川观测站侧碛垄的OSL年代为14.8±1.2 ka;9号冰川支谷口附近冰碛的OSL年代为13.5±1.1 ka和17.2±1.3 ka;上望峰冰碛的OSL年代为20.1±1.6 ka。综合OSL年代结果与此前其他测年结果,这几套冰碛垄形成于深海氧同位素MIS 2阶段应该是比较统一的认识。上望峰冰碛上覆黄土的OSL年代（10.5±0.8 ka）也印证了该结论。OSL年代指示上望峰冰碛对应于末次冰期最盛期,冰川观测站和9号冰川支谷谷口冰碛对应于晚冰期。下望峰冰碛的OSL年代为36.3±2.8 ka,对应于MIS 3阶段。下望峰冰碛的形成时代,仍有待更多沉积学以及测年工作进一步确定。     

Luminescence dating of buried cobble surfaces from sandy beach ridges: a case study from Denmark

Here we investigate the use of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) for dating cobbles from the body of successive beach ridges and compare cobble surface‐derived ages to standard quartz OSL ages from sand. Between four and eight cobbles and sand samples (age control) were dated with the luminescence method, taken from the modern beach and from beach ridges on the south and north extremes of a prograding spit on the westernmost coast of Lolland, Denmark. Luminescence‐depth profiles perpendicular to the surfaces of the cobbles show that the feldspar infrared signals stimulated at 50 °C were fully reset to various depths into the cobbles prior to final deposition; as a result, the equivalent doses determined from close to the surface of such cobbles can be used to calculate burial ages. Beach‐ridge burial ages given by the average of ages of individual cobbles taken from the same site are consistent, within errors, with the ages derived from the sand samples. Cobble‐ and sand‐derived ages show that the southernmost beach ridge at Albuen was formed around 2 ka ago, indicating that this sandy spit is younger than other coastal systems in Denmark. The agreement between ages derived from clasts and from standard quartz OSL in this study confirms that, even in the absence of sandy sediments, we can reliably date sites using OSL by targeting larger clasts. In addition, the record of prior light exposure contained in the shape of the cobbles’ luminescence‐depth profile removes one of the major uncertainties (i.e. the degree of signal reset prior to burial) in the luminescence dating of high latitude sites.     

Long-term fluvial archives in the Fen Wei Graben,central China,and their bearing on the tectonic history of the India–Asia collision system during the Quaternary

Staircases of large-scale river terraces are striking features of the landscape in the Fen Wei Graben, adjacent to the Qinling orogenic belts, central China. Field investigations indicate that all five river terraces are composed of a basal channel gravel and an overlying, thick loess–palaeosol succession. As Chinese loess stratigraphy has been well studied, it favours age determination of these terraces and their correlation with the marine oxygen isotope stages. Our research indicates that the ages of the five terraces are approximately 2.6, 1.2, 0.9, 0.65, and 0.15 Ma, respectively. The formation of these river terraces within the Fen Wei Graben has been attributed to NW–SE crustal extension, associated with left lateral displacement between the North and South China Blocks, in response to the northward movement of India towards Asia since Cenozoic time. Thus, the stepped terraces in the Fen Wei Graben reflects elements of the India–Asia collision systems, in which terraces define episodes of accelerated northward movement of India towards Asia during the Quaternary.     

Optical dating of young coastal dunes on a decadal time scale

We explore the use of quartz optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating for reconstructing coastal evolution on a time scale of decades to a few hundred years. Samples are taken from the accretionary south-west coast of Texel, a barrier island just offshore of the northern Netherlands. The ages of dune ridges are known from historical sources; an excellent chronology with a decadal accuracy exists for the past 260 years. OSL ages of less than 10 years on the youngest samples indicate that the OSL signal of the quartz grains is very well zeroed prior to deposition and burial. OSL ages of five samples from a 250-year-old dune ridge are indistinguishable, and the OSL ages on 17 out of 20 samples are in excellent agreement with the well-known independent age controls. Our results highlight the potential of OSL dating for high-resolution reconstruction of coastal evolution over the past few centuries.     

Re‐dating the Pilgrimstad Interstadial with OSL: a warmer climate and a smaller ice sheet during the Swedish Middle Weichselian (MIS 3)?

Alexanderson, H., Johnsen, T. & Murray, A. S. 2009: Re‐dating the Pilgrimstad Interstadial with OSL: a warmer climate and a smaller ice sheet during the Swedish Middle Weichselian (MIS 3)? Boreas, 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2009.00130.x. ISSN 0300‐9483. Pilgrimstad in central Sweden is an important locality for reconstructing environmental changes during the last glacial period (the Weichselian). Its central location has implications for the Scandinavian Ice Sheet as a whole. The site has been assigned an Early Weichselian age (marine isotope stage (MIS) 5 a/c; >74 ka), based on pollen stratigraphic correlations with type sections in continental Europe, but the few absolute dating attempts so far have given uncertain results. We re‐excavated the site and collected 10 samples for optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating from mineral‐ and organic‐rich sediments within the new Pilgrimstad section. Single aliquots of quartz were analysed using a post‐IR blue single aliquot regenerative‐dose (SAR) protocol. Dose recovery tests were satisfactory and OSL ages are internally consistent. All, except one from an underlying unit that is older, lie in the range 52–36 ka, which places the interstadial sediments in the Middle Weichselian (MIS 3); this is compatible with existing radiocarbon ages, including two measured with accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). The mean of the OSL ages is 44±6 ka (n=9). The OSL ages cannot be assigned to the Early Weichselian for all reasonable adjustments to water content estimates and other parameters. The new ages suggest that climate was relatively mild and that the Scandinavian Ice Sheet was absent or restricted to the mountains for at least parts of MIS 3. These results are supported by other recent studies completed in Fennoscandia.     

Linear dune accumulation chronologies from the southwest Kalahari, Namibia: challenges of reconstructing late Quaternary palaeoenvironments from aeolian landforms

The linear dunes of the southern Kalahari dunefield constitute one of the major palaeoenvironmental proxies in the region. The application of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating since the1990s and advancements in the depth of sampling using augering equipment over the past few years have permitted the reconstruction of linear dune accumulation chronostratigraphies for entire dune profiles from base to crest. These methods are applied to four dunes in the Mariental–Stampriet region of the southern Kalahari dunefield, sampled at predominantly 0.5 m intervals. Individual dunes record multiple phases of dune construction, but with only a few phases recorded consistently between two or more of the dunes. Results from the 48 OSL ages produced here extend the aeolian accumulation record for the southern Kalahari dunefield through the last three glacial–interglacial cycles with two ages from the early part of MIS6. A synthesis of all existing luminescence ages for the southern Kalahari reveals that the dunefield has been partially active throughout much of the past 120 ka. There are no clear clusters of ages within OSL age errors. This is in contrast to previous syntheses of ages for this region. In addition, these new data from Mariental–Stampriet dunes show that clusters in grouped dune OSL ages can be spuriously produced as a function of reducing the sampling frequency with depth within the dunes, from 0.5 to 1 mintervals. This has significant implications for previous conclusions regarding discrete phases of aeolian accumulation based on sampling at 1 m intervals and less vertically intensive sampling techniques. The total luminescence data set of 136 ages for the southern Kalahari implies that this dunefield has been close to the threshold of reactivation throughout much of the late Quaternary.     

贵州涟江惠水段河流阶地特征与地貌演化研究

贵州涟江惠水段级次清晰的四级阶地是流域地貌阶段性演化的直观记录。笔者等利用差分GPS测量法精确厘定了涟江阶地的级序和高程,结合剖面观测发现从上游到下游,涟江惠水段阶地标高和级差逐渐降低,地貌面整体呈“收拢”趋势;阶地沉积物呈现砾石层厚度变小,砾石含量降低、砾径减小,砂质沉积占比增大趋势;阶地类型从基座阶地为主向堆积阶地为主演变。光释光(OSL)测年显示,T1阶地埋藏年龄31.2±2.0 ka BP到14.7±1.3 ka BP,T2阶地122.4±8.5 ka BP到66.9±3.8 ka BP,阶地年龄与贵州高原其他流域十分相近,具有同步演化特征。结合阶地时代和发育特征,认为贵州高原河流阶地是构造运动的产物。涟江四级阶地记录了在更新世以来四次构造抬升背景下,流域经过多期自北向南“削高补低”的地貌改造,逐步由构造洼地演变为山间盆地的地貌过程。