Optical dating of sediments
Abstract
A new method for dating sediments is proposed, which determines the time since the sediment was last exposed to sunlight. An argon-ion laser is used to excite electrons from thermally-stable light-sensitive traps and the subsequent luminescence used as a measure of the past radiation dose. Two sample sequences spanning the periods 0-700 kyr and 0-6 kyr show steadily increasing luminescence with age. An age of 62+/-8 kyr is obtained for a silt radiocarbon dated at 58.8+/-0.3 kyr. Problems were found with two much younger samples.
- Publication:
-
Nature
- Pub Date:
- January 1985
- DOI:
- 10.1038/313105a0
- Bibcode:
- 1985Natur.313..105H