Thermoluminescence of meteorites and their terrestrial ages

A new technique is described in which the natural thermoluminescence (TL) in chondritic meteorites is normalized to the TL sensitivity of each meteorite. The relationship between the normalized TL level and a meteorite's terrestrial age is examined. The average normalized TL level measured in 45 ordinary chondrites of known terrestrial age decreases with increasing terrestrial age. There is a factor of ten variation in the TL levels of fresh falls which is primarily due to differences in orbital temperatures (Melcher, 1981). Nevertheless, it is possible to distinguish between recent falls and meteorites greater than a few hundred years old if they have been stored at the same temperature. The decay characteristics of the TL are studied by means of initial rise experiments and isothermal decay experiments at elevated temperatures. The TL levels of 11 Antarctic meteorites are compared with the results of ¹⁴C, ²⁶Al and ³⁶Cl studies of the terrestrial ages of these objects. There is a rough correlation between the low temperature TL levels and the radionuclide activities. Since the TL method is quick and requires as little as 10mg of material, it is most valuable as a rapid screening process to select samples appropriate for study by other techniques.