Infrared-Radiofluorescence (IR-RF) Dating of loess samples with independent age control from central Alaska – further investigations to establish IR-RF as a resilient dating method
Final Report Abstract
The during the stay in Montréal obtained results show that it is still challenging to date polyminerals with IR-RF. One key issue is the dim IR-RF signal of polyminerals if compared to coarse grain K-feldspar. Very helpful were the measurements with the spectrometer that gave detailed insights into the various RF-emissions of the selected samples. It was shown that potential interference of the red emission can be a relevant problem. This might especially be the case in the upper dose range as the red emission is increasing with irradiation time. Furthermore, it seems that dose residuals lead to an age overestimation which is clearly relevant for Upper Pleistocene loess. Consequently, in the future, investigations should concentrate on Middle Pleistocene loess / Aeolian deposits as for such “old” samples, dose residuals should have much less influence.
