Luminescence dating for paleoseismic research: What users need to know
Amanda Keen-ZebertPublished August 15, 2017, SCEC Contribution #7811, 2017 SCEC Annual Meeting Poster #138
Luminescence dating is now widely used in paleoseismic applications, particularly where there is a lack of suitable organic material for radiocarbon dating. It has been applied to define the timing of slip rates, earthquake recurrence, and fault displacement. To achieve accurate, precise, and rigorous luminescence results, proper sampling and assessment of field settings is critical. To interpret and evaluate luminescence ages, it is important to understand its limits, uncertainties, and the basics of how ages are calculated.
I will present the essentials of sample collection and site evaluation for luminescence sampling and how to interpret and evaluate luminescence results and ages. Sampling considerations will be covered including grain size, target minerals, assessing the dose field, post-depositional mixing, water content, mode of transport, potential for partial bleaching, and sampling in complex settings, for example, where deposits are coarse grained. I will present the critical information needed to evaluate the quality of luminescence results, its limitations, uncertainty, guidelines for interpretation, and a basic overview of how ages are calculated. New advances in analysis that may be useful in the context of paleoseismic research will also be discussed.
Key Words
luminescence dating, paleoseismic, geochronology
Citation
Keen-Zebert, A. (2017, 08). Luminescence dating for paleoseismic research: What users need to know. Poster Presentation at 2017 SCEC Annual Meeting.
Related Projects & Working Groups
Earthquake Geology
