Acquisition of an automated luminescence reader for optical dating of Quaternary sediments

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Luminescence is emerging as the most promising method for dating Quaternary events and timing environmental changes, from the very recent (few tens of years) to the very old (~ 500 ka). The optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) emission of quartz and feldspar minerals extracted from sediments is a measure of the time elapsed since deposition. As more than 90% of the luminescence dates being published are from quartz, the field of feldspar luminescence is still in full research development, as the latter has the potential to date events that are 5 to 10 times older than the maximum age limit for quartz.The requested equipment is a standard TL/OSL Risø reader that allows full automation of luminescence measurements (irradiation, preheating, bleaching and stimulation). This system is the standard equipment in most laboratories of the world as it is efficient, reliable and, above all, its automation is specifically adapted to single aliquot work. This acquisition is of primary importance for students and research collaborators as it will allow measurements in Helium atmosphere, which shows a better thermal conductivity and can increase the reproducibility of luminescence measurements by an order of magnitude.