Yellow stimulated luminescence from potassium feldspar: Observations on its suitability for dating

doi:10.1016/j.radmeas.2012.08.002

Radiation Measurements

Volume 47, Issue 10, October 2012, Pages 974-980

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radmeas.2012.08.002 Get rights and content

Abstract

Yellow stimulated luminescence (Y-OSL) is the light detected from potassium-rich feldspars at 410 nm under stimulation by a yellow light source emitting 590 nm. The investigation of this study aimed at understanding basic luminescence physics of Y-OSL in order to assess the suitability of the technique for dating. The Y-OSL signal properties tested were signal intensity, thermal assistance, thermal stability, sensitivity to daylight and the suitability of a single aliquot regenerative (SAR) protocol to be employed for equivalent dose (D_e) estimation. D_e measurements were conducted on samples of Holocene, last glacial and Tertiary age. The tests were undertaken on sedimentary feldspar separates extracted from aeolian, fluvial and coastal deposits.

Results from experiments show that the signal intensity increases by measuring Y-OSL at elevated temperature suggesting thermal assistance characteristics similar to infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL). The yellow stimulated signal remains unaffected by preheat temperatures up to ∼200 °C suggesting higher thermal stability than the IRSL signal. The Y-OSL signal is less light sensitive than the IRSL signal and D_e residuals obtained from modern samples are up to 7 Gy indicating suitability of the technique for ‘older’ and well-bleached sediments. The dose recovery tests successfully recovered the given dose if the specific light sensitivity of Y-OSL is taken into account. For every sample Y-OSL D_e values obtained by a single aliquot regenerative dose protocol (SAR) are higher than those obtained by an IRSL SAR approach. From these results we infer high thermal stability and a minimal anomalous fading of the Y-OSL signal. We conclude that Y-OSL has a high potential to date Quaternary sediments that were sufficiently bleached in nature.

Highlights

► A yellow stimulated feldspar signal was tested for its suitability for dating. ► Dose recovery tests successfully recovered the given doses. ► The Y-OSL signal is only a bit less light sensitive than IRSL. ► A comparison of Y-OSL versus IRSL D_es points to low fading rates for Y-OSL.

Introduction

Luminescence dating is a tool to determine the depositional age of sediments in terms of the time elapsed since the last exposure of the minerals to daylight. Such chronological data are important when information on landscape evolution is required. Quartz is often the mineral of choice for dating (Wintle, 2008) because its luminescence properties are well understood and its fast signal component is more sensitive to light than the one of K-feldspar. However, the age range for quartz OSL dating is limited to ∼150 ka (Wallinga, 2002) as quartz saturates at doses below 300 Gy, sometimes even below 100 Gy (Fitzsimmons et al., 2010).

While infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) from K-feldspar has the advantage of determining higher doses, its IRSL signal suffers from signal instability (anomalous fading, Wintle, 1973) which requires time-consuming correction procedures with often unsatisfying results (e.g. Mortekai et al., 2010). Here, we search for luminescence components in K-feldspar that provide higher stability than the IR signal. So far, such a signal was reported to be obtained from post-IR IRSL (pIRIR) measured at elevated temperatures (e.g. Thomsen et al., 2008; Buylaert et al., 2009; Thiel et al., 2011). But Jain and Ankjærgaard (2011), using either time-resolved IR or (continuous wave) green and blue OSL show that recombination pathways are mainly regulated by the excitation energy as well as by stimulation temperature and that a stable IR-stimulated feldspar signal component is present in the slower decaying part of the IR-decay curve. The unstable fast decaying IR-feldspar signal is explained by a “localised transition” (Trautmann et al., 2000) by which electrons do not recombine via the conduction band (see also Poolton et al., 2002). Jain and Ankjærgaard (2011) found that the majority of the electrons recombine via the conduction band when K-feldspar is stimulated with green and blue light (525 nm and 470 nm, respectively). Here, we hypothesise that electron recombination via conduction band gives rise to a stable luminescence signal and that yellow light (590 nm) provides an appropriate stimulation energy to generate this electron pathway.

Previous studies had already demonstrated that the yellow stimulated K-feldspar signal (Y-OSL) yields reliable dating results: Lüthgens et al. (2011) dated a Saalian–Eemian–Weichselian sedimentary sequence from Vevais (North-Eastern Germany) using a Y-OSL SAR approach which included the detection of the Y-OSL signal at 260 °C after depleting the IRSL (50 °C) signal. The same SAR-Y-OSL approach was used by Lauer et al. (2011b) to date Weichselian samples from fluvial deposits of the Rhine for which independent age control was available by tephrochronology.

This study aimed to further understand the luminescence characteristics of the Y-OSL feldspar signal and to further test the applicability of the Y-OSL technique for dating Quaternary sediments. In the experimental part of the study we tested the Y-OSL for (a) relationship between signal intensity and stimulation temperature (thermal assistance), (b) thermal stability, (c) sensitivity to daylight, and (d) suitability of a single aliquots regenerative dose (SAR) dating protocol. In the empirical part the Y-OSL SAR protocol was applied to samples of different ages and its results were compared to those obtained from a standard IRSL SAR protocol.

We use the term Y-OSL which stands for the detection of the yellow stimulated signal after a preheat to 280 °C (hold for 60 s) followed by an IR-bleach at 50 °C. This differs from Lüthgens et al. (2011) and Lauer et al. (2011b) who used the term pIR-Y-OSL or post-IR Y-OSL for the yellow stimulated luminescence signal.

Section snippets

Samples and instrumental details

Luminescence measurements were carried out on 100–250 μm feldspar samples from different source areas (Table 1). Modern surface samples were obtained from different environments (dune, coast, desert sand) and used as analogues for the dose at time of deposition.

For sample preparation the samples were first dried and sieved and then chemically treated with 10% HCl, 30% hydrogen peroxide and sodium oxalate to remove carbonates, organic matter and clay particles.

The potassium-rich feldspar

Experiments

In the following sections the synonyms IRSL, Y-OSL₅₀, Y-OSL₂₆₀ and Y-OSL are used to describe the experiments. The meaning of the synonyms is explained in Table 2.

Summary and conclusion

We investigated the luminescence properties of a feldspar signal stimulated with yellow light (590 nm) and detected in the blue wavelength range. We show that the intensity of the yellow stimulated signal is dependent on the stimulation temperature and hence thermal assistance helps to increase the signal. Experiments on the thermal stability of the Y-OSL signal indicated stability until ∼200 °C. One major concern of this study was to obtain more detailed information on the applicability of the

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Ingrid Stein from the luminescence laboratory in Freiberg for assistance in sample preparation. Furthermore, Tobias Lauer wants to thank Toni Reimann for providing sample material from the Baltic Sea and to Daniela Hülle from Cologne University for providing luminescence samples from Mongolia. Tobias Lauer is also grateful to Sumiko Tsukamoto from the Leibniz Institute for Applied Geophysics (LIAG) in Hanover for scientific support.

References (30)

J.P. Buylaert et al.
Testing the potential of an elevated temperature IRSL signal from K-feldspar
Radiation Measurements
(2009)
G.A.T. Duller et al.
On infrared stimulated luminescence at elevated temperatures
Nuclear Tracks and Radiation Measurements
(1991)
G.A.T. Duller
Behavioural studies of stimulated luminescence from feldspars
Radiation Measurements
(1997)
K.E. Fitzsimmons et al.
OSL dating of southeast Australian quartz: a preliminary assessment of luminescence characteristics and behaviour
Quaternary Geochronology
(2010)
G. Hütt et al.
Optical dating: K-feldspars optical response stimulation spectra
Quaternary Science Reviews
(1988)
M. Jain et al.
Towards a non-fading signal in feldspar: insight into charge transport and tunnelling from time-resolved optically stimulated luminescence
Radiation Measurements
(2011)
T. Lauer et al.
Fluvial aggradation phases in the Upper Rhine Graben – new insights by quartz OSL dating
Proceedings of the Geologists' Association
(2010)
C. Lüthgens et al.
Timing of the last interglacial in northern Europe derived from optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of a terrestrial Saalian-Eemian-Weichselian sedimentary sequence in NE Germany
Quaternary International
(2011)
A.S. Murray et al.
The single aliquot regenerative dose protocol: potential for improvements in reliability
Radiation Measurements
(2003)
T. Reimann et al.
The potential of using K-rich feldspars for optical dating of young coastal sediments – A test case from Darss-Zingst peninsula (southern Baltic Sea coast)
Quaternary Geochronology
(2011)

U. Rieser et al.

Feldspar IRSL emission spectra at high and low temperatures

Radiation Measurements

(1997)

K.J. Thomsen et al.

Laboratory fading rates of various luminescence signals from feldspar-rich sediment extracts

Radiation Measurements

(2008)

T. Trautmann et al.

The basic principle of radioluminescence dating and a localized transition model

Radiation Measurements

(2000)

Engelmann, A., 2004. Aeolianites and palaeosols in Israel: luminescence chronology and relationship with Eastern...

C. Hoselmann

The Pliocene and Pleistocene fluvial evolution in the northern Upper Rhine Graben based on results of the research borehole at Viernheim (Hessen, Germany)

Quaternary Science Journal (Eiszeitalter und Gegenwart)

(2008)

Cited by (6)

Dating Aeolian Deposits
2022, Treatise on Geomorphology
This is an overview of the geochronological approaches commonly used to date aeolian deposits. Luminescence dating has become an integral part of aeolian research, and is therefore the focus of this section. Methodological details of luminescence protocols, for both quartz and feldspars, are considered, as well as other components of the luminescence age equation that require careful consideration, such as water content or burial depth. Techniques such as electron spin resonance dating, cosmogenic nuclide burial, radiocarbon dating, and tephrochronology are also briefly outlined. The challenges faced when interpreting chronological data are considered, such as the deposition and preservation of aeolian sediment, the meaning of ages in geomorphological context, the continuity and completeness of aeolian archives, and extrapolating and contextualizing data from a site into wider regional frameworks. The potential for dating some unusual aeolian records, such as aeolian sediments in marine cores or tufa carbonates, is also explored. The usefulness of combining geochronological approaches at the same site is highlighted and methodological developments in the field, the laboratory, and with data analysis are pointed to that will improve the dating of aeolian deposits in the future.
LumReader: Designing your luminescence experiment with R
2019, Radiation Measurements
Citation Excerpt :
However, over the past ten years, research on luminescence dating has entered a new phase of diversification. The diversification of OSL is related equally to instrumental advances such as the introduction of violet stimulated luminescence (VSL) (Jain, 2009; Ankjaergaard et al., 2013, 2015, 2016), yellow stimulated luminescence (YSL) (Lüthgens et al., 2011; Lauer et al., 2011, 2012) and the use of electron multiplying charge-coupled device (EMCCD) cameras for spatially resolved OSL (Clark-Balzan and Schwenninger, 2012; Kook et al., 2015; Greilich et al., 2015) and spectrally resolved OSL (Demuro et al., 2016; Kook et al., 2016), and to methodological developments, with the introduction of new measurement protocols including the post infra-red IRSL (postIR-IRSL) (Thomsen et al., 2008; Buylaert et al., 2009; Thiel et al., 2011; Roberts, 2012), thermally-transferred OSL (TT-OSL) (Wang et al., 2006; Duller and Wintle, 2012; Chapot et al., 2016) or thermally assisted OSL (TA-OSL) (Polymeris, 2016). Thermoluminescence (TL) dating also experienced a renewed interest.
During the last decades, luminescence dating has entered a phase of diversification. This evolution is strongly linked to a series of technical advances, including but not limited to the improvement of EMCCD cameras and the use of violet and yellow LEDs. New measurement techniques have been developed, such as post infra-red infra-red stimulated luminescence (postIR-IRSL) measurement protocols and thermally-transferred OSL (TT-OSL), and the luminescence properties of new materials, such as gypsum and apatite, have been reinvestigated.
The appropriate configuration of detection equipment is key to the design of new experimental investigations. The R-package LumReader has been designed to simulate both the detection properties of luminescence readers and the emission properties of materials. It allows optimisation of the experimental detection window for a given filter and detector (PMT or EMCCD camera) combination through comparison of the detection window, the stimulation signal and the luminescence emission of the studied material. With the development of a reference database and its flexibility for accommodating user defined functions, this package will allow the spectral information of any luminescence experiment to be simulated, also facilitating experimental design.
New age constraints for the Saalian glaciation in northern central Europe: Implications for the extent of ice sheets and related proglacial lake systems
2018, Quaternary Science Reviews
Citation Excerpt :
Fading corrections for feldspar grains, yielding luminescence signals plotting beyond the linear part of the dose-response curve, are problematic (Huntley and Lamothe, 2001; Kars et al., 2008). Therefore, methodological research on feldspar-luminescence dating within the last decade concentrated on stimulating luminescence from electron traps, which are not or only to a negligible part affected by fading (e.g., Buylaert et al., 2009; Thiel et al., 2011; Lauer et al., 2012; Frouin et al., 2017). It was demonstrated that reliable feldspar luminescence ages can be obtained by stimulating the feldspar signal at elevated temperatures after depleting the IR50-signal (Thomsen et al., 2008).
A comprehensive palaeogeographic reconstruction of ice sheets and related proglacial lake systems for the older Saalian glaciation in northern central Europe is presented, which is based on the integration of palaeo-ice flow data, till provenance, facies analysis, geomorphology and new luminescence ages of ice-marginal deposits. Three major ice advances with different ice-advance directions and source areas are indicated by palaeo-ice flow directions and till provenance. The first ice advance was characterised by a southwards directed ice flow and a dominance of clasts derived from southern Sweden. The second ice advance was initially characterised by an ice flow towards the southwest. Clasts are mainly derived from southern and central Sweden. The latest stage in the study area (third ice advance) was characterised by ice streaming (Hondsrug ice stream) in the west and a re-advance in the east. Clasts of this stage are mainly derived from eastern Fennoscandia. Numerical ages for the first ice advance are sparse, but may indicate a correlation with MIS 8 or early MIS 6. New pIRIR₂₉₀ luminescence ages of ice-marginal deposits attributed to the second ice advance range from 175 ± 10 to 156 ± 24 ka and correlate with MIS 6.
The ice sheets repeatedly blocked the main river-drainage pathways and led to the formation of extensive ice-dammed lakes. The formation of proglacial lakes was mainly controlled by ice-damming of river valleys and major bedrock spillways; therefore the lake levels and extends were very similar throughout the repeated ice advances. During deglaciation the lakes commonly increased in size and eventually drained successively towards the west and northwest into the Lower Rhine Embayment and the North Sea. Catastrophic lake-drainage events occurred when large overspill channels were suddenly opened. Ice-streaming at the end of the older Saalian glaciation was probably triggered by major lake-drainage events.
Pulsed IRSL: A stable and fast bleaching luminescence signal from feldspar for dating Quaternary sediments
2017, Quaternary Geochronology
Citation Excerpt :
Lauer et al. (2011b) dated three samples from the fluvial sediment sequence (MHT-I, -II, and –III) which yielded similar quartz OSL ages from 11.6 ± 0.7 to 11.7 ± 1.0 ka. MHT-I, which was taken 4 m below MHT-II, was also measured with K-feldspar using pIRIR225 and post-IR yellow stimulated luminescence signals (Lauer et al., 2012), which are consistent with the quartz OSL age, 12.2 ± 1.2 ka and 11.5 ± 1.2 ka, respectively. Sample LUM-3291 was collected from fluvial sediment of the Tanahara-Harataima (Th) terrace (Kaizuka and Moriyama, 1969) of Sagamihara River, at Muryokoji in Sagamihara, near Tokyo, Japan (Fig. 1).
Elevated temperature post-infrared infrared stimulated luminescence (post-IR IRSL; pIRIR) dating method using feldspar has led to a significant advancement in dating Quaternary sediments, as this signal has been shown to be stable on geological time scales. In comparison to the conventional IRSL, the pIRIR signal is nearly free from anomalous fading, but it is more difficult to reset during daylight exposure; the latter characteristic may give rise to age over-estimation in some environments because of partial bleaching. The pulsed IRSL signal has also been known to be less affected by anomalous fading, when the signal is recorded during the off-time of LED stimulation pulses. In this study, we compare the signal bleachability, thermal and athermal stability, and age estimates derived using different measurement methods, i.e., pulsed IRSL measured at 50 °C (pulsed IR₅₀; subscripts refers to measurement temperature), continuous wave (CW) pIRIR₂₂₅ and pIRIR₂₉₀ signals, as well as the two IR₅₀ signals measured as a part of the pIRIR protocols. This comparison is carried out for 3 samples taken from Late Quaternary fluvial sediments, which have independent age estimates from radiocarbon dating and tephrochronology. We observe that under exposure to solar simulator, the pulsed IR₅₀ signal bleaches as rapidly as the CW IR₅₀, and much more rapidly than the pIRIR signals. Furthermore, the pulsed IR₅₀ signal is also as stable as the pIRIR signals, especially when the middle part of the decay curve is used for signal intensity calculation.
The issue of laboratory bleaching in the infrared-radiofluorescence dating method
2015, Radiation Measurements
Citation Excerpt :
Evidence for a shallow trap contributing to the luminescence at 865 nm in feldspars is presented by Huot et al. (2015). Red (625 nm) and amber (590 nm) – Variations in the IR-RF signal intensities during bleaching are very low, as these wavelengths are inefficient at producing optical eviction in feldspars (Bailiff and Poolton, 1991; Lauer et al., 2012). Here again, we think that the evicted electrons might be transferred to a shallow trap due to phototransfer, as a mean to delay the beginning of bleaching.
Measuring the infrared radiofluorescence (IR-RF) signal is methodologically simpler than measuring the IRSL or TL signals. However, unlike classical luminescence measurements, the IR-RF signal is totally resetting when its highest value is reached. Previous studies (Buylaert et al., 2012; Trautmann et al., 2000) reported that the proper bleaching level of an IR-RF signal is difficult to define and seems to be dependent 1) on the wavelength used for bleaching and 2) on exposure duration. The IR-RF signals from K-feldspar samples have been measured with various bleaching wavelengths and exposure time using a Lexsyg research luminescence unit. In this study, we propose suitable bleaching parameters adapted to IR-RF measurements.
Thermoluminescence and its applications: A review
2014, Defect and Diffusion Forum

View full text

Yellow stimulated luminescence from potassium feldspar: Observations on its suitability for dating

Abstract

Highlights

Introduction

Section snippets

Samples and instrumental details

Experiments

Summary and conclusion

Acknowledgements

Radiation Measurements

Nuclear Tracks and Radiation Measurements

Radiation Measurements

Quaternary Geochronology

Quaternary Science Reviews

Radiation Measurements

Proceedings of the Geologists' Association

Quaternary International

Radiation Measurements

Quaternary Geochronology

Radiation Measurements

Radiation Measurements

Radiation Measurements

The Pliocene and Pleistocene fluvial evolution in the northern Upper Rhine Graben based on results of the research borehole at Viernheim (Hessen, Germany)

Quaternary Science Journal (Eiszeitalter und Gegenwart)