Spectral measurements of loess TL

Abstract

Variations in TL glow curves are reported for two loess samples when examined with broad band filters in the range 275–650 nm. Samples show striking differences in bleaching behaviour, when their TL emissions are observed in the u.v., blue, green and yellow spectral regions. The age estimates, given by the equivalent dose (ED) values, differ by up to a factor of two for analyses using the green and u.v. TL signals. These ED values also vary with prolonged room temperature storage between the bleaching and irradiation steps. The anomalies in the bleaching behaviour are interpreted in terms of changes in TL efficiency. The results have major implications for the regeneration method of TL dating for these fine-grained sediments and suggest that reliable dates obtained by it may be fortuitous.