| Title | Using optical dating to determine when a sediment was last exposed to sunlight |
| Download | Download (whole publication) |
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| Licence | Please note the adoption of the Open Government Licence - Canada
supersedes any previous licences. |
| Author | Huntley, D J; Lian, O B |
| Source | Holocene climate and environmental change in the Palliser Triangle: a geoscientific context for evaluation the impacts of climate change on the southern Canadian prairies; by Lemmen, D S (ed.); Vance, R E
(ed.); Geological Survey of Canada, Bulletin 534, 1999 p. 211-222, https://doi.org/10.4095/211119  Open Access |
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| Year | 1999 |
| Publisher | Natural Resources Canada |
| Document | serial |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | paper; on-line; digital |
| Related | This publication is contained in Holocene climate and
environmental change in the Palliser Triangle: a geoscientific context for evaluation the impacts of climate change on the southern Canadian prairies |
| File format | pdf |
| Subjects | geochronology; Nature and Environment; analytical methods; radiometric dating; Climate change |
| Illustrations | analyses |
| Program | Palliser Triangle Global Change Project |
| Released | 1999 01 01; 2000 01 01 |
| Abstract | Optical dating has now been established as a method that can be used to determine when quartz or feldspar grains in sediment were last exposed to sunlight. In this review, we outline the processes that
occur in these minerals while in the environment, and the laboratory techniques used to obtain an age estimate. The questions "Are optical ages correct?" and "What can go wrong?" are addressed. Examples are provided of cases where optical ages are in
agreement with ages obtained using other methods. Examples are also given for instances where unexpected ages were obtained, and possible resolutions are discussed. Emphasis is placed on the necessity of sufficient sunlight exposure prior to burial,
and the degree to which this depends on the environmental circumstances. The examples chosen are primarily from our work in western Canada and they are intended to show what a geoscientist can and cannot expect of optical dating. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 211119 |
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