ESR dating of aeolian sediments from Pleistocence desert environments

电子自旋共振（ESR）谱将被用来估计沉积年龄的风成序列从更新世沙漠环境。最近的研究表明，石英中与钛有关的杂质缺陷在利用ESR建立风成沉积物年代学方面具有很大的潜力（Beerten和Stesmans，2005年）。ESR测年最重要的前景在于有望将测年范围扩大到超过其他广泛使用的风成沉积物测年方法（如光释光（OSL）或热释光（TL）测年）的上限。过去曾多次尝试用ESR测定此类矿床的年龄，但至今缺乏系统的研究。然而，与其他年龄对照的ESR测年结果的广泛数据库是评价ESR测年方法的一个重要因素。几个序列从风成环境在澳大利亚，埃及，苏丹和纳米比亚，跨越晚更新世和中更新世，将使用多个颗粒样品的X-波段ESR光谱进行调查。目前正在其他项目的框架内研究这些层序，后者提供基于发光方法的（独立）年龄控制，以及来自区域地层学的间接年龄控制。预计这项研究的结果将是扩展ESR测年范围的重要一步，超出了用于测年风成沉积物的其他技术（即光释光）。

Electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy will be used to estimate depositional ages of aeolian sequences from Pleistocene desert environments. Recent investigations have shown that Ti related impurity defects in quartz have a great potential for establishing chronologies of aeolian deposits using ESR (Beerten and Stesmans, 2005). The most important prospect of ESR dating lies in the expected extension of the dating range beyond the upper limit of other widely used dating methods for aeolian deposits such as optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) or thermoluminescence (TL) dating. In the past, several attempts have been made to date such deposits with ESR, but a systematic study is lacking so far. An extensive database of ESR dating results against other age control however is an important element in the evaluation of the ESR dating methodology. Several sequences from aeolian environments in Australia, Egypt, Sudan and Namibia, spanning the Late and Middle Pleistocene, will be investigated using X-band ESR spectroscopy of multiple grain samples. Such sequences are currently being studied in the framework of other projects, the latter providing (independent) age control based on luminescence methods, and indirect age control from the regional stratigraphy. It is expected that the output of this study will be an important step in extending the dating range of ESR beyond that of other techniques (i.e. OSL) used for dating aeolian deposits.