Quartz luminescence dating of Anglian Stage (MIS 12) fluvial sediments: Comparison of SAR age estimates to the terrace chronology of the Middle Thames valley,UK

Quartz optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) is increasingly being used to constrain the depositional age of fluvial and glaciofluvial sequences over orbital (Milankovitch) timescales within the British Isles. Few of these previous studies have had any age control; however there is some evidence that OSL ages based on the single aliquot regenerative dose (SAR) protocol may be subject to systematic age underestimation as samples approach saturation. In this study, the age of 12 luminescence samples from a chronologically well-constrained site dating to 450 ka from the Thames terrace sequence, southern Britain, was measured using SAR in order to test the performance of the method close to its upper age limit. The characteristics, dose response and thermal stability of the OSL signal in these samples were assessed by investigating equivalent dose (D_e) as a function of stimulation time and component-resolved pulse annealing. Despite the fact that the samples are dominated by the quartz fast component, these results showed that both the medium and slow components have lower stabilities than the fast component, but with the unstable medium component most affecting the initial part of the OSL signal used in dating. Based on isolating the fast component either through curve fitting or eliminating the medium component using the early background subtraction method, OSL ages up to 450 Gy were found to compare well with the expected age of the site of 450 ± 23 ka. In contrast, a systematic age underestimation of 10% was manifested at lower doses when using the initial part of the OSL signal, contaminated by the medium component. These results suggest that the early background subtraction method should be used when dating in the non-linear part of the growth curve as it provides a better separation of thermally unstable signals and represents a more convenient approach than curve fitting in well-behaved samples.     

An analysis of the components of the luminescence signals of selected polymineral and quartz samples from loess in western China and southern Tajikistan,and their suitability for optical dating

Previous luminescence dating studies on loess from China and Tajikistan have focused on the establishment of the regional chronology of the loess sequences. In order to improve the precision and accuracy of optical ages derived from the loess of the last glacial period in these regions, we have examined the components of luminescence signals in three loess samples from western China and southern Tajikistan. Our results show that the polymineral IRSL and post-IR OSL, and quartz OSL signals from loess of the two regions are represented by three components, which display different bleaching and growth characteristics. While the composition of the polymineral IRSL signals is similar between samples with the same age from the two regions, in the case of quartz there is significant discrepancy in the proportion of the fast and medium components of the OSL signals. Greater difference is observed in the composition of the polymineral post-IR OSL signals for the loess from the two regions. The three components of polymineral IRSL signals yield almost identical equivalent dose values as that derived from the total IRSL signal. An apparent agreement in equivalent dose is observed between the fast component of the polymineral post-IR OSL and the quartz OSL for the loess of western China but not in the loess of the same age from southern Tajikistan. The fast component of the quartz OSL yields an equivalent dose 25% higher than that based on the total signal for the sample from the base of the Late Pleistocene loess in southern Tajikistan. This demonstrates the importance of signal selection for an accurate luminescence dating of Central Asian loess.     

Violet stimulated luminescence as an alternative for dating complex colluvial sediments in the Atacama Desert

Luminescence dating has become a key tool in studies of the Quaternary. The typically stable luminescence response of quartz grains and the absence of a significant internal dose, make quartz minerals the preferred dosimeter for monitoring the burial dose in sediments. Unfortunately, the reliability of conventional OSL (optically stimulated luminescence) dating, based on blue stimulation, can be compromised when the luminescence decay is not dominated by a rapidly decaying and stable part of the luminescence signal (i.e. the fast component). On the other hand, standard methods in luminescence dating are limited to ages of a few hundred kiloyears. In this study, violet stimulated luminescence (VSL) has been used as a means to overcome both problems, applied to a series of colluvial deposits in the Atacama Desert, Chile. Quartz from this region, characterized by poor blue-OSL response, showed a reproducible and stable VSL signal capable of recovering given doses up to ∼500 Gy and a saturation dose twice as high as conventional OSL. The VSL response from these samples has been studied in detail and the estimated ages have been compared with an already established chronology for the same site, based on IRSL of potassium feldspar single grains. Results agree for the dose range of the profile studied, ∼100–250 Gy, equivalent to ages of 29–79 ka confirming the suitability of VSL for dating sedimentary quartz with unreliable blue-OSL response and to extend the age range of conventional OSL dating.     

海原断裂带刺儿沟剖面烘烤次生黄土的光释光测年及其地质意义

选择海原活动断裂带刺儿沟剖面2个烘烤次生黄土样品LEDL0588H和LEDL0365的细颗粒石英,采用改进后的单测片再生法(SAR)和简单多测片再生剂量法(SMAR)进行了一系列实验研究。2个样品细颗粒石英的光释光信号均以快速组分为主,其等效剂量(DE)的预热坪实验表明,在180～260℃的预热温度范围内均能获得基本一致的DE值。SAR法测量不同预热温度下的释光感量变化、剂量恢复实验和LN/TN比值的关系以及SMAR法测量中LN/TN比值与预热温度的关系的研究表明,文中所采用的流程能有效地校正测量过程中释光信号感量变化。2种方法均适用于采自不同层位的2个烘烤样品细颗粒石英的OSL测年,并获得了非常接近的OSL年龄。2个样品最后一次被烘烤的时间可能代表的是同一时期的人类活动     

Luminescence characteristics of Scandinavian quartz,their connection to bedrock provenance and influence on dating results

The success of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating relies to a large extent on suitable characteristics of the analysed mineral, in this case quartz. Previous OSL dating of Quaternary sediments in Scandinavia has shown that quartz characteristics vary widely across the region, resulting in dating studies with varied success. The aim of this study is to provide an overview of quartz luminescence characteristics in Sweden and Norway, evaluate their effect on dating results and discuss the underlying causes of their variability.A qualitative assessment of luminescence signal characteristics of quartz from Late Quaternary sediment deposits, from a range of geological and geographical settings, has been made by re-analysing data from samples previously dated at the Lund Luminescence Laboratory, Sweden. This allowed a general characterisation of signals and a study of the relationship of these properties to dating result ‘quality’. To quantify the results, selected samples were further analysed with single-grain measurements and with small aliquots.The results show that the average luminescence signal from quartz is fairly dim but dominated by a fast signal component and changes little during measurement. Dose determination precision is ∼4% for 8-mm aliquots and ∼6% for 2-mm aliquots. However, the luminescence signal characteristics have a spatial variation across Sweden and Norway, which appears to correlate with large-scale bedrock units. In areas of sedimentary bedrock outside the Scandinavian mountains and within the Blekinge-Bornholm province, the quartz is brighter and has a stronger fast signal component, while in the Caledonian orogenic belt, the signal is very weak and lacks a fast component. These differences lead to a range in precision of doses, from ∼2% to >40% (for doses in the order of 5–400 Gy), and in the number of rejected aliquots (0–100%) depending on location, but also implies that quartz luminescence can be used as a provenance indicator in part of Sweden and Norway.     

Optical dating of perennially frozen deposits associated with preserved ancient plant and animal DNA in north-central Siberia

We present chronological constraints on a suite of permanently frozen fluvial deposits which contain ancient DNA (aDNA) from the Taimyr Peninsula of north-central Siberia. The luminescence phenomenology of these samples is first discussed, focusing on the optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) decay curve characteristics, thermoluminescence (TL) properties, and signal compositions of quartz from these previously unstudied deposits. Secondly, we assess the suitability of these samples for OSL dating and present the OSL chronologies obtained using both single-grain and multi-grain equivalent dose (D_e) measurements. The results of our analyses reveal a large amount of inter-aliquot variability in OSL decay curve shape that is directly related to differences in the size of the 280 °C TL peak and the associated slowly bleached ‘S2’ OSL component. Longer OSL stimulation durations are adopted in the D_e measurement procedure to prevent the progressive build-up of slowly bleached signal components throughout successive single-aliquot regenerative-dose (SAR) measurement cycles. The use of low preheat temperatures in the SAR procedure also reduces the deleterious effects of these slowly bleached signal components. The resultant single-grain and multi-grain OSL chronologies obtained using this approach are stratigraphically consistent and are in close agreement with independently established ¹⁴C ages at our sites. The findings of this research reveal the potential of OSL dating as a means of providing a reliable chronometric framework for sedimentary aDNA records in permafrost environments.     

Direct measurement of the fast component of quartz optically stimulated luminescence and implications for the accuracy of optical dating

The usual practice in optical dating is to derive an equivalent dose (D_e) (and hence age) from integration of the initial part of the measured optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) signal. This ‘bulk’ OSL signal is known to comprise several semi-independent components, each of which decays at different rates during measurement, and thus contributes a different proportion to the bulk signal as measurement time progresses. Data are presented here which show a strong dependence of D_e on the bulk signal integration interval, with reduced D_e for later signal integration intervals resulting from lower medium component D_e values. This dependence leads to two problems: (i) deciding which signal integral to choose, and (ii) the possibility that all bulk signals will provide systematic age underestimation due to medium component signal contributions. Isolating the fast component of the bulk OSL signal provides a solution to both problems and several methods of achieving this are assessed; an efficient new method is described which is incorporated in to standard single-aliquot regenerative-dose measurement sequences. This method involves the direct measurement of the fast-component signal using infrared (830 nm) stimulation of quartz at 160 °C, prior to the standard bulk OSL measurement with 470 nm stimulation. It is shown that the measured quartz infrared stimulated luminescence signals resolve pure fast-component signals and provide D_e estimates consistent with those from signal deconvolution. This approach can only be applied to samples with relatively bright luminescence emissions, but in these cases is expected to provide a more robust estimate of palaeodose.     

OSL dating of the AD 869 Jogan tsunami deposit,northeastern Japan

Sediments deposited by the AD 869 Jogan tsunami offer an opportunity to test the reliability of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of relatively old historical tsunami deposits. We collected a geoslicer sample from sand deposited on the Sendai Plain, northeastern Japan, by the Jogan tsunami and applied quartz OSL dating to it. We then compared the OSL ages with the known age of the tsunami event. In ascending order, the sedimentary sequence in the geoslicer sample consists of the beach–dune sand, lower peat, Jogan tsunami deposit, upper peat, pre-2011 paddy soil, and the 2011 tsunami deposit. To obtain equivalent dose (D_e,bulk), a standard single-aliquot renegerative-dose (SAR) protocol was applied to large aliquots of the 180–250 μm fraction of two samples from the beach–dune sand, and four samples from differing levels of the Jogan tsunami deposit. The OSL decay curves were dominated by the medium component; thus, for two samples from the Jogan deposit the fast-component OSL signal was isolated and used to determine the equivalent dose (D_e,fast). Using D_e,bulk, OSL ages of the tsunami deposit were underestimated by ∼40%, and even the beach–dune sand was dated younger than AD 869. In contrast, D_e,fast provided a robust age estimate with only slight underestimation. A pulse annealing test showed that the bulk and medium-component OSL signals were thermally unstable. The medium component in the natural OSL was clearly truncated in comparison to the regenerated OSL; the medium component is thus considered to be the main cause of the underestimated ages. Similar effects of a dominant medium-component OSL have been reported in tectonically active regions, which are also prone to tsunamis. The effect of this dominance should be carefully considered in quartz OSL dating of tsunami deposits.     

Variations in quartz OSL components with lithology,weathering and transportation

The signal properties of quartz optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) vary from sample to sample, and even from grain to grain, in terms of, for example, signal intensity or the composition of OSL signal components. However, the cause of the variation in quartz OSL properties is not well understood. Here, we report our experimental observations of continuous wave and linearly modulated OSL signals in quartz grains from fresh bedrocks, saprolites, and sediments in Korea. The OSL signals in quartz grains from both fresh bedrocks and saprolites in the granitic and metamorphic rocks are dominated by slower OSL components, with no fast OSL component. By contrast, the OSL signals in quartz extracts from sandstones are predominantly composed of fast OSL components. Quartz extracts derived from thermally metamorphosed or diagenetically recrystallised sandstones, however, tend to emit weaker OSL signals, a property related to intense slower OSL components. Along the fluvial transportation path, slower OSL components dominate near the host granite, but their absolute/relative intensity decreases with a simultaneous increase in the fast OSL component with transportation distance. OSL signal characteristics suitable for dating appear to be acquired during sedimentary processes after the liberation of quartz grains from granitic and metamorphic bedrock. Therefore, granitic and metamorphic quartz grains should be transported a sufficient distance for the fast OSL component to be sensitised. However, unless they have been affected by post-thermal metamorphism and recrystallisation, the OSL signal properties of quartz grains released from Cretaceous sedimentary rocks seem to be suitable for OSL dating, regardless of the transportation distance.     

Implications of broad dose distributions obtained with the single-aliquot regenerative-dose method on quartz fine-grains from loess

Six samples were collected from a section of Peoria Loess in Eustis, North America, for optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of quartz, and all except one (LV90) produced narrow dose distributions. A comparative study was conducted on this sample and on a ‘well-behaved’ sample (LV91), involving other dating methods and examination of the quartz OSL. These investigations revealed differences in the quartz OSL growth with dose, OSL response to thermal treatments and the range of components within the OSL signals. An ultra-fast component was found in LV90 that displayed a higher rate of sensitivity change than the fast component and this had a malign influence on the determination of the equivalent dose. The distinctive luminescence characteristics of LV90 imply either a change in wind dynamics and/or the source area for the silt.     

Isolating quartz-dominated OSL signal of rock slice by using pulsed stimulation: Implications for dating burial age of cobbles

Although the OSL signal sourced from quartz is expected to be more stable and bleached more rapidly than the IRSL signal sourced from feldspar in a general sense, the former is much less investigated than the latter for rock surface related luminescence dating. It is mainly due to the difficulty in isolating quartz-dominated OSL signals from rock slices, and the low sensitivity and non-fast component dominated OSL signals for quartz in most of rocks. In merit of the sub-conduction band transition of trapped electrons of feldspar under both green light stimulation and IR stimulation at elevated temperature (Jain and Ankjӕrgaard, 2011), it is expected that the contribution of feldspars to the green light stimulated luminescence could be substantially reduced by a prior IR stimulation at elevated temperature. Meanwhile, more fast-component dominated quartz OSL signal (if there is any) could be obtained by green light stimulation (Bailey et al., 2011). Therefore, in this study, we investigated the feasibility of using the post-IR pulsed green stimulation, which is performed at 25 °C (PGLSL₂₅) following two IR stimulations (IR₅₀IR₂₂₅), to isolate the quartz-dominated OSL signals from rock slices of granite cobbles for burial dating. The decay characteristics of stimulation curve, characteristic saturation dose and thermal stability of the pIR₅₀IR₂₂₅ PGLSL₂₅ signal suggest that this signal is quartz-dominated, but still not fast-component dominated. We tentatively validated the equivalent dose (D_e) measurement protocol by dose recovery experiment. The luminescence-depth profiles show that the bleaching depths of pIR₅₀IR₂₂₅ PGLSL₂₅ signals are slightly smaller than or close to that of the IR₅₀ signals, while they are much shallower for the pIR₅₀IR₂₂₅ signals. The pIR₅₀IR₂₂₅ PGLSL₂₅ procedure enables multiple D_e values determined from luminescence signals, with different bleachabilities and stabilities, from both feldspars and quartz in one measurement, which is of potential for buried age dating of cobbles.     

Sedimentation rates on embanked floodplains determined through quartz optical dating

We investigate the use of quartz optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating for determining fluvial overbank sedimentation rates over decades to centuries. For the study we took 11 samples from three cores from an embanked floodplain along the River Waal (Rhine) near Neerijnen (The Netherlands). We propose a measurement protocol for young fluvial quartz based on the single-aliquot regenerative dose procedure. Parameters for the protocol are chosen to isolate the fast OSL component, eliminate an ultrafast OSL component and avoid thermal transfer. The protocol shows excellent dose recovery and recycling ratios. For each sample, a Gaussian is fitted to the lower part of the equivalent dose distribution to obtain an estimate of the burial dose. We discuss the validity of the OSL ages using internal and external controls, and conclude that there is no evidence for large systematic offsets in the OSL ages. OSL based sedimentation rates are between ～3 and 8 mm/a, in line with previous estimates.     

Quartz OSL sensitivity from dating data for provenance analysis of pleistocene and holocene fluvial sediments from lowland Amazonia

The properties of the quartz luminescence signal have been shown to be a useful tool for sediment provenance analysis. These provenance studies are based on the sensitivity of the fast optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) component, which is also used for sediment dating. Besides the widespread occurrence of quartz in terrigenous sediments, OSL sensitivity can be acquired using relatively fast and low-cost measurements compared to sediment provenance analysis methods based on accessory minerals or isotopes. Additionally, laboratories worldwide already have an extensive database of recorded quartz OSL signals primarily measured for dating studies, and these data could potentially be repurposed for provenance analysis of Quaternary sedimentary systems through OSL sensitivity calculation. Here, we investigate the use of OSL quartz signals measured in sediment dating surveys for OSL sensitivity calculation and evaluation of changes in sediment sources. The OSL sensitivity was calculated and expressed as %BOSL_F, which corresponds to the percentage of the fast OSL component signal (blue stimulation) to the total OSL curve; such approach is advantageous as it does not require any normalisation of the measured signal intensity to dose or aliquot size (weight). Three sets of samples from Amazonian fluvial sediments are investigated: two sets of Holocene floodplain sediments representing different sediment sources to the Amazonian fluvial system, i.e. the Amazon craton and the Andes Mountain belt, and a set of samples from the Içá Formation, a paleo-fluvial system active during the Pleistocene whose provenance is not fully known. Results show that the quartz OSL signal derived from the first test doses (T_n) applied in dating protocols had the best performance for %BOSL_F calculation when compared to results from a measurement protocol designed specifically for sediment provenance analysis. There is significant correlation (R² = 88) between sensitivities derived from T_n and a specific OSL provenance analysis protocol. The proposed approach indicates to be appropriate for sediment provenance analysis since it is able to discriminate signal differences among samples from known sources: Brazilian cratonic quartz yield high sensitivity values (mean %BOSL_F >70), in contrast to the relatively lower values from Andean quartz (mean %BOSL_F <50). In general, quartz OSL sensitivities from the Içá Formation samples fall into the same range of modern sediments transported by the Içá and Japurá rivers draining the Andean Eastern Cordillera of Colombia and Ecuador. We also observe a decrease in quartz OSL sensitivity during the Holocene, notably after 4 ka, with younger deposits showing lower sensitivity. Sediment provenance variations are discussed in terms of watershed rearrangement and/or precipitation-driven changes during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene across Amazonia.     

Optical dating of young deltaic deposits on a decadal time scale

Modern Mississippi Delta sediments were analyzed to investigate quartz OSL signal resetting in large river deltas and test the accuracy of OSL dating on a decadal time scale with the early background subtraction and a recently proposed burial dose estimation procedure. Both fine silt-sized and sand-sized quartz were measured with a modified single-aliquot regenerative dose (SAR) protocol and equivalent dose (D_e) was calculated using different background subtraction methods. Evidence of insufficient bleaching was observed, but the residual signal is equivalent to ∼100 a on average for both sandy quartz and fine silt-sized quartz. It is shown that dose distributions of sandy quartz are affected by the background subtraction. The proportion of aliquots that have D_e in agreement with expectation is significantly larger when an early background is subtracted compared to the late background subtraction. This is, in contrast, not observed for fine silt-sized quartz. Accurate OSL ages were obtained by employing the unlogged minimum age model to D_es of sandy quartz obtained with the early background subtraction method.     

Testing the use of range-finder OSL dating to inform field sampling and laboratory processing strategies

A newly developed range-finder luminescence dating method is applied to samples from the eastern Punjab region of Pakistan. Overbank sediments from this area are the subject of an ongoing project into the demise of the Harappan civilization about 4.2 ka and the range-finder technique was used to ascertain whether samples from three pits are from this part of the Holocene. Luminescence measurements of raw sample gave a signal dominated by feldspars, even when using a [post-IR] optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) signal. Following etching in hydrofluoric acid samples gave OSL signals characteristic of quartz and these were used to calculate the equivalent dose. The total dose rate was estimated from beta counting. Eight range-finder OSL ages extend from 4000 to 6600 years ago and are consistent with two radiocarbon ages from the same pits demonstrating that these sediments do straddle the period of interest for this project. The range-finder approach provides a rapid means of informing future field sampling campaigns.     

Quartz OSL and TL dating of pottery,burnt clay,and sediment from Beicun archaeological site,China

This study focuses on characterizing the thermoluminescence (TL) and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) of quartz in burnt clay, pottery, and the sediments unearthed from a Neolithic site, the Beicun site of the Liangzhu culture. It shows that the initial OSL signals (within 0.8 s) of most burnt clay and pottery sherds are not dominated by the fast component. Results of a heating simulation experiment of sediment quartz show that annealing at temperatures exceeding 600–800 °C decreased the proportion of the fast component in the initial signal slightly. In addition, the proportion of the medium component in the later signal (0.8–5 s) increased significantly, resulting in a decrease in the Fast Ratio value. Therefore, high annealing temperature may be an important reason for the slow decay rate of OSL signals of the burnt clay and pottery samples. The D_e(t) plot shows that most of the samples have thermally stable OSL component signals, which have no significant effect on the final OSL ages. The single-aliquot regenerative-dose (SAR) protocol was used to determine the OSL and TL ages for chunk burnt clay and pottery sherds. The high-precision age of the last archaeological heating event, such as sacrifice, burning, or domestic firing, can be obtained by determining the TL and OSL ages of a homogeneous chunk of burnt clay. The OSL results are consistent with the ¹⁴C age of carbon chips extracted from burnt clay. The age of the Beicun site is finally determined to be approximately 5000–5300 BP (BP represents before 2020), belonging to the early period of the Liangzhu culture.     

城市活断层探测中钻孔岩心光释光样品的采集

钻孔岩心测年样品具有较一般地质样品更为复杂的影响因素,样品特征对年龄可靠性有非常重要的影响,且主要受钻进方法和采样过程的制约。采用回转钻进取全心的方法,对光释光测年带来的不确定性影响因素主要有扰动导致软弱土层、砂层的混染;泥浆渗入对样品的污染;挤压和摩擦生热对释光信号的可能影响等。除样品特征外,含水量的变化及放射性平衡状况等对钻孔岩心样品的年龄可能存在影响。释光测年样品的基本要求、测试技术和方法是野外正确采样的依据,针对城市活断层探测工作中钻探任务的一般要求,文中提出了岩心光释光样品采集的建议,并对年代测试时需要考虑的不确定性因素进行了讨论     

Investigating the potential of HCl-only treated samples using range-finder OSL dating

Rapid sample preparation and measurement protocols for optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating have been investigated as a method of increasing the throughput of samples (e.g. Roberts et al. 2009). Here, we investigate the potential of dating samples treated using only hydrochloric acid (HCl) for providing accurate range-finder ages for quartz. The equivalent dose (D_e) is underestimated for older samples using a standard single-aliquot regenerative-dose (SAR) protocol, but measurement of the post-IR OSL signal (e.g. Roberts and Wintle, 2003) provides D_e estimates within 15% of the ‘target fully prepared D_e’ for two-thirds of samples. The application of a standardised growth curve (SGC) is also investigated. For these dune samples, the most efficient preparation and measurement procedure from which accurate D_e estimates can be obtained is treatment with HCl-only, measurement of the natural and regenerative post-IR OSL signal, and calculation using a region-independent SGC. A slightly longer protocol incorporating an additional preparation stage of heavy liquid density separation can be used to improve D_e estimates in samples where feldspar-contamination is thought to be particularly problematic. In practice, these time savings of days to weeks in the preparation and measurement protocols mean that a large number of samples can first be rapidly treated with HCl, the post-IR blue OSL signal measured using a shortened double-SAR protocol, and D_e calculated by applying an independent SGC before then deciding which samples require full preparation and measurement, rather than the inefficiency of committing time and resources to all samples if this is unnecessary for the context of a particular suite of samples. The potential of this rapid preparation and measurement protocol is discussed in relation to sand dune dating studies.     

OSL-thermochronometry using bedrock quartz: A note of caution

Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) thermochronometry is an emerging application, whose capability to record sub-Million-year thermal histories is of increasing interest to a growing number of subdisciplines of Quaternary research. However, several recent studies have encountered difficulties both in extraction of OSL signals from bedrock quartz, and in their thermochronometric interpretation, thus highlighting the need for a methodological benchmark. Here, we investigate the characteristic OSL signals from quartz samples across all major types of bedrock and covering a wide range of chemical purities. High ratios of infrared to blue stimulated luminescence (IRSL/BLSL), an insensitive ‘fast’ OSL component, and anomalously short recombination lifetimes seen in time-resolved luminescence (TR-OSL), are often encountered in quartz from crystalline (magmatic and metamorphic) bedrock, and may hamper successful OSL dating. Furthermore, even when the desirable signal is present, its concentration might be indistinguishable from its environmental steady-state prediction, thus preventing its conversion to a cooling or heating history. We explore the saturation properties and the thermal activation parameters of various OSL signals in quartz to outline the capabilities and limitations for their use in low-temperature thermochronometry.     

Quartz OSL dating of late Holocene beach ridges from the Magdalen Islands (Quebec,Canada)

Quartz optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating has been applied to sandy beach ridge systems from the Magdalen Islands in the center of the Gulf of St. Lawrence (Quebec, Canada) to provide the first chronological framework for these features. Nineteen beach ridges (22 samples) from four different sites throughout the archipelago were investigated. At one of the sites, samples were taken at 9 m and 7.5 m depth using a vibracore. The quartz is dominated by the fast OSL component and a single-aliquot regenerative-dose (SAR) protocol was used to measure the equivalent doses; a low preheat (180°C/10 s) was chosen to avoid the influence of thermal transfer. The average dose recovery ratio of all samples is 1.02 ± 0.02 (n = 130) suggesting that the SAR protocol works satisfactorily on this material. The OSL ages are internally consistent and supported by independent age control (radiocarbon). The OSL ages indicate that the ridges were built between 2.6 ± 0.2 ka and 0.40 ± 0.10 ka, i.e. during a period of sea level rise. This rise eroded adjacent sandstone cliffs, which contributed a significant sediment supply to the littoral drift and beaches. Some low-lying coasts in the archipelago are still prograding, despite a relative sea level increase of ∼1.6 mm/a over the last 600 years. The late Holocene ages obtained in this study indicate that these processes have been active for at least the past two thousand years. This study demonstrates for the first time that OSL dating using quartz has great potential in this area, and is an appropriate method for establishing precise chronologies for coastal sediments in this region of the Gulf of St. Lawrence.