Medway Valley Palaeolithic Project: Optically Stimulated Luminesence (OSL) Dating Of Fluvial Sediments
Author(s): Jean-Luc Schwenninger, Bates, M R, Rebecca Briant, Francis Wenban-Smith
A total of 27 samples collected from Pleistocene aggregate deposits in north Kent and southeast Essex were used for dating by optically stimulated luminescence (OSL). The samples originated from fluvial terrace deposits associated with the river Medway in the Medway Valley north of Maidstone, the Hoo peninsula, and the southeast quarter of Essex, up to Clacton-on-Sea. The OSL age estimates were obtained on sand-sized quartz grains and palaeodose determinations were made using a single-aliquot regenerative dose (SAR) measurement protocol. For each sample the environmental dose rate was calculated from the concentrations of radioactive elements derived by ICP-MS analysis using a fusion sample preparation method. The concentrations of uranium, thorium, and potassium were well above detection limits and the samples and their luminescence characteristics were generally considered to be well suited for OSL dating.
- Report Number:
- 96/2007
- Series:
- Research Department Reports
- Pages:
- 21
- Keywords:
- Geochronology Optically Stimulated Luminescence Pleistocene
