2010, Alappat, L., Tsukamoto, S., Singh, P., Srikanth, D., Ramesh, R., Frechen, M.

We present the results of luminescence dating of sediments from two cores from the Cauvery Delta in south-east India. Since all natural quartz OSL signals except one sample were in saturation, the elevated temperature post-IR IRSL protocol for K-feldspar was applied to establish a chronology. Internal dose rates of K-feldspar grains were calculated from the measured internal content of potassium, uranium, thorium and rubidium in the bulk of K-feldspar grains using solution ICP-OES and ICP-MS analysis. A substantial scatter in single-aliquot De values was observed which is most probably due to the effect of incomplete bleaching of fluvial sediments before burial. A minimum age model was applied to extract possible depositional ages. The study revealed that except an upper layer of Holocene sediments (< 5m), the majority of the upper ~50m of Cauvery delta sediments were deposited between marine isotope stage MIS-5 and MIS-10 or older. The feldspar luminescence ages also indicate the existence of a period of non deposition or erosion in the upper part of the cores. © 2010 GADAM Centre Institute of Physics, Silesian University of Technology. All rights reserved.

2012, Schmidt, Silke, Tsukamoto, Sumiko, Salomon, Eric, Frechen, Manfred, Hetzel, Ralf

Well constrained numerical ages of alluvial fan sediments are key to understanding the chronology of alluvial episodes and tectonic activity at the front of the Andean Precordillera. We test-ed the application of radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating in the distal part of an alluvial fan five kilometers north of Mendoza. For OSL dating a large number of aliquots (n > 70)-each composed of ̃50 quartz grains-were measured in order to obtain reliable burial ages despite scattered dose distributions. Owing to a feldspar contamination in all samples, an infrared stimulation was inserted before each OSL measurement, which reduced the feldspar OSL signal suc-cessfully. By using the minimum age model we obtained stratigraphically consistent burial ages of al-luvial deposits in a depth profile. The uppermost ̃1 m of sediment is composed of debris flow depos-its buried 770±76 years ago. Three plant remnants used for radiocarbon dating from the same layer, however, yielded ages younger than 350 years, which are interpreted to underestimate the deposition-al age. Underneath the debris flow, a major unconformity cuts a series of distal alluvial fan sediments with interstratified floodplain deposits, which are composed of sandy and calcite-rich silt layers, re-spectively. Three samples from this unit which were distributed over one meter of sediment thickness yielded statistically concordant OSL ages of 12.3±1.2 ka, 12.3±1.2 ka, and 11.7±1.1 ka. The deposi-tion of these sediments during the latest Pleistocene coincides with a phase of cool and humid cli-mate, which occurred before the alluvial fan propagated farther into the foreland. The overlying de-bris flow sediments are associated with alluvial fan incision during the arid Late Holocene. © 2011 Silesian University of Technology.