Sl. Forman et al., LIMITATIONS OF INFRARED STIMULATED LUMINESCENCE IN DATING HIGH ARCTICMARINE-SEDIMENTS, Quaternary science reviews, 13(5-7), 1994, pp. 545-550
The accuracy of infra-red stimulated luminescence (IRSL) dating was ev
aluated for modern, late glacial (11 to 13 ka) and older (70 +/- 10 ka
and 125 +/- 10 ka) nearshore marine sediments from west Spitsbergen.
Despite the increased sensitivity of the IRSL signal to solar reductio
n compared with thermoluminescence, the IRSL signal of these sediments
was not totally reset, resulting in overestimates of a few 1000 to 10
,000 years. Subtraction of residuals determined after 10 or 60 minutes
of filtered light exposure (wavelengths <540 nm blocked) yielded appa
rently concordant age estimates. However, some samples exhibited signi
ficant anomalous fading even after preheating and storage; at least on
e sample exhibited some increase in the IRSL signal. Although the cons
istency of the IRSL age estimates are encouraging, the need for cautio
n in luminescence geochronology is emphasized because of outstanding q
uestions on signal stability and the extent of solar resetting.