IRSL dating of Middle Pleistocene interglacial sediments from southern Quebec (Canada) using multiple and single grain aliquots

Abstract

The IRSL dating of Middle Pleistocene interglacial fluvial sediments from Southern Quebec, correlated with oxygen isotopic stage 7, yields optical dates much younger than the expected geological age. Single grain IRSL measurements on alkali–feldspars, following the fadia protocol developed by Lamothe and Auclair (Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 171, 319–323, 1999), suggest that anomalous fading is the most probable cause for this severe age underestimation. The IRSL dates corrected for this anomalous fading are in better agreement with the expected ages.