LUMINESCENCE DATING IN QUATERNARY GEOLOGY: ADVANCES AND APPLICATIONS

Luminescence dating is the most appropriate dating method in Quaternary Geology to determine the age of sediment. This is because the luminescence signal records the exposure of the minerals to daylight or heat, essentially the last reworking of the sediment, and hence the luminescence signal can be used to directly date the timing of deposition. Various studies on sediments from different environmental settings have shown the broad and successful application of luminescence dating methods. Nevertheless, sediment that have not been fully exposed to sunlight, which are prone to insufficient resetting of the luminescence signal during their last erosion-transportation-sedimentation cycle, provide overestimates of the true age. However, recent advances in luminescence dating allow the detection of insufficient resetting of the luminescence signal and its deviation of the sedimentation age. These new developments in luminescence dating allow a range of different sediment types from different environmental settings to be dated for a broad range of geological and archaeological problems.