Optically stimulated luminescence dating method

References

Optically stimulated luminescence OSL dating is used to determine the robust chronology of the phases of sediment deposition and incision in a headwater sub-basin of the Yzeron Basin, France. Different statistical approaches to extract the mean equivalent dose from dose distributions are compared to estimate the effect of differential bleaching of the OSL signal prior to deposition. Two approaches result in OSL ages that are internally consistent and in excellent agreement with radiocarbon dating, indicating that all investigated sediments are younger than AD From this data a complex deposition and incision history is constructed for the last years. It is concluded that sediment deposition was mainly forced by sediment supply from ploughing areas. Two short-lived phases of incision during the first half of the XIX th century were probably caused by a decrease of sediment supply due to a decline in the frequency of heavy precipitation events. The channel incised during this period was later partly filled with sediment. The decline of agricultural land use from about onwards decreased sediment supply, while the increase of urbanisation from about amplified the flow energy of flooding by pluvial waters and overflows from storm basins, causing the presently ongoing incision in the area that began about AD Grain size analysis was carried out thanks to the help of Vincent Gaertner. We acknowledge Jean-Paul Bravard for helpful discussions concerning the palaeoenvironmental interpretation of the results, Sally Lowick for language corrections, and Sven Lukas for some helpful comments.

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Introduction How do we measure the OSL signal? How do we measure the radiation dose rate? Another way of dating glacial landforms is optically stimulated luminescence dating OSL.

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Optically stimulated luminescence : The emission of light from crystalline materials when stimulated by light following previous absorption of energy from radiation. Luminescence dating consists of a family of analytical methods, most of which are used in archaeological research. They can be applied to samples ranging in age from just a few years to several hundreds of thousands of years beyond the range of radiocarbon dating , and they are, therefore, able to cover a time interval that includes important turning points in the evolution of humans. The choice of luminescence method depends on the availability of appropriate minerals, the time period of

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OSL Dating in Archaeology

Desert Archaeology crew chief Caleb E. Ferbrache explains how electrons trapped in rock can be used to date archaeological deposits—and why, unlike the more familiar carbon dating, OSL allows dating in the absence of preserved organic material. Most people know that archaeologists regularly use carbon also called radiocarbon to date materials they find. While radiocarbon dating revolutionized archaeology and remains the most common dating method in the discipline, it is not the only method available. One alternative is optically stimulated luminescence.

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