Applying luminescence methodology to key sites of Alpine glaciations in Southern Germany

Abstract

This paper investigates the properties of quartz sampled at different sites in the Riss, Iller, Mindel, and Isar Valley of the northern Alpine Foreland of Germany and ties in with a previous study of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of glaciofluvial sediments from the type regions of the Würmian, the Rissian, and the Mindelian Glaciations. The previous investigation showed severe underestimation of quartz ages compared to the existing tentative chronology based on morphostratigraphic evidence as well as fading uncorrected feldspar Infrared Stimulated Luminescence (IRSL) ages. In this paper we present laboratory experiments and data analyses such as pulse annealing and isothermal decay measurements, De(t) and NR(t) plots as well as curve fitting analyses to demonstrate that the quartz has unfavourable luminescence characteristics. We conclude that the quartz from the study area is not suitable for OSL dating using standard single-aliquot regenerative-dose techniques.