Luminescence dating of quartz using an improved single aliquot regenerative-dose protocol

Jinmium rock shelter is famous for the claims made by Fullagar et al. (1996) for the early human colonization and ancient rock art of northern Australia. These claims were based on thermo-luminescence ages obtained for the artefact-bearing quartz sediments that form the floor deposit at the site. In this paper, we outline the background to the optical dating programme at Jinmium, and describe the experimental design and statistical methods used to obtain optical ages from single grains of quartz sand. The results, interpretations, and implications of this dating programme are reported in a companion paper (Roberts et al. 1999, this volume).

Optical dating of single and multiple grains of quartz from jinmium rock shelter, northern australia: part i, experimental design and statistical models*

The single aliquot regenerative dose protocol: potential for improvements in reliability

Many of the world's deltas are densely populated and intensively farmed. An assessment of recent publications indicates that the majority of these deltas have been subject to intense flooding over the past decade, and that this threat will grow as global sea-level rises and as the deltas subside. Many of the world's largest deltas are densely populated and heavily farmed. Yet many of their inhabitants are becoming increasingly vulnerable to flooding and conversions of their land to open ocean. The vulnerability is a result of sediment compaction from the removal of oil, gas and water from the delta's underlying sediments, the trapping of sediment in reservoirs upstream and floodplain engineering in combination with rising global sea level. Here we present an assessment of 33 deltas chosen to represent the world's deltas. We find that in the past decade, 85% of the deltas experienced severe flooding, resulting in the temporary submergence of 260,000 km2. We conservatively estimate that the delta surface area vulnerable to flooding could increase by 50% under the current projected values for sea-level rise in the twenty-first century. This figure could increase if the capture of sediment upstream persists and continues to prevent the growth and buffering of the deltas.

/pdf/sinking-deltas-due-to-human-activities-48cw4lmnh7.pdf

Sinking deltas due to human activities

A review of quartz optically stimulated luminescence characteristics and their relevance in single-aliquot regeneration dating protocols

In the Eurasian Upper Paleolithic after about 35,000 years ago, abstract or depictional images provide evidence for cognitive abilities considered integral to modern human behavior. Here we report on two abstract representations engraved on pieces of red ochre recovered from the Middle Stone Age layers at Blombos Cave in South Africa. A mean date of 77,000 years was obtained for the layers containing the engraved ochres by thermoluminescence dating of burnt lithics, and the stratigraphic integrity was confirmed by an optically stimulated luminescence age of 70,000 years on an overlying dune. These engravings support the emergence of modern human behavior in Africa at least 35,000 years before the start of the Upper Paleolithic.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/295/5558/1278.full.pdf

Emergence of modern human behavior: Middle Stone Age engravings from South Africa.

Advances in luminescence instrument systems

Duller, Geoffrey, (2004) 'Luminescence dating of Quaternary sediments: recent advances', Journal of Quaternary Science 19(2) pp.183-192 RAE2008

Geoff A. T. Duller

Papers

Emergence of modern human behavior: Middle Stone Age engravings from South Africa.

Advances in luminescence instrument systems

Luminescence dating of quaternary sediments: recent advances

Standardised growth curves for optical dating of sediment using multiple-grain aliquots

Optical dating of dune sand from Blombos Cave, South Africa: I—multiple grain data