Services:

Our laboratory specializes in geochronological analysis using luminescence and electron spin resonance (ESR) dating techniques. Luminescence dating, including Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL), Infrared Stimulated Luminescence (IRSL), and Thermoluminescence (TL), allows us to determine the time elapsed since mineral grains were last exposed to light or heat—providing age estimates for sediments, rocks, ceramics, and other materials ranging from hundreds to several hundred thousand years old. ESR dating extends the range further, offering chronological insights into materials such as quartz, tooth enamel, and carbonates that range from 1000’s to 2+ million years old. We serve academic researchers and industry clients to delivering precise, well-documented results tailored to each project’s needs.

Luminescence dating of sediments:

• • Mineral targets: quartz, feldspar
  • Grain sizes: fine silt to medium sand sized grains
  • Applications: Determining the depositional age of sedimentary deposits including, but not limited to, alluvial, aeolian, lacustrine, fluvial, periglacial, and glacial deposits.
  • Typical age range: ~100 to 200,000 years with some exceptions up to ~ 1 million years.

Luminescence dating of ceramics:

• • Applications: Determining the firing age of archaeological ceramics and authenticity testing of cultural heritage artifacts.
  • Typical age range: ~100 to 200,000 years

Luminescence dating of rocks

• • Preferred rock types: feldspar bearing rocks including granites, granodiorites, metamorphic rocks, volcanic rocks.
  • Grain sizes: pebble to boulder-sized clasts.
  • Applications: Luminescence measurements from rock surfaces or rock cores can be used to determine rock burial ages, or rock exposure ages when calibration samples are available. If present, xenocrysts or phenocrysts can also be extracted from the interior of volcanic rocks to determine an eruption age. Applications can also include rock constructions, bricks, or clay-fired shingles where possible.
  • Typical age range: ~100 to ~200,000 years, with some exceptions beyond 200,000 years.

Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) dating:

• • Preferred materials: quartz, tooth enamel (hydroxyapatite), carbonates (coral, shell).
  • Applications: ESR dating can be used to determine the depositional age of quartz grains across a variety of depositional environments. In tectonically active areas, ESR dating of quartz or calcite in fault gouge can also be used to constrain the timing of fault motion. ESR dating can also be applied to fossil tooth enamel in archaeological contexts.
  • Typical age range: 1000’s to >2 million years