No abstract

Luminescence properties of two samples taken from sand lenses in proglacial outwash deposits of a piedmont glacier that reached the Swiss midlands during the Last Glacial Maximum are investigated in detail. Deconvolution of CW-OSL decay curves shows that the fast component dominates the OSL signal of quartz. The chemistry of single feldspar grains, in particular the K content in different grains, is determined using wavelength dispersive spectrometry (electron microprobe), revealing an average 12.9 wt.% K of the grains contributing to the IRSL signal. D e distributions are investigated in order to gain insights into partial bleaching, and agreement is found for quartz OSL and feldspar IR 50 and pIRIR 225 ages for small aliquots and single grains when applying the Minimum Age Model. These ages are also consistent with independent age control. For one sample, ages determined using the Central Age Model result in highly overestimated ages for both feldspar and quartz.

Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating was applied to proglacial deposits from the Klettgau Valley in northern Switzerland, which is understood to record several phases of glaciation prior to the Last Interglacial. The aim was to provide an independent chronology for the different sedimentary units to understand better the complex depositional history of the region. This time range requires care when assessing the reliability of the luminescence protocols applied. Equivalent doses for fine‐ and coarse‐grain quartz remained below 300 Gy, while dose response curves for both fractions continued to display growth above 500 Gy. Dose recovery tests confirmed the ability of the single aliquot regenerative (SAR) protocol to recover laboratory doses of a similar size to burial doses, and isothermal decay measurements confirmed the stability of the quartz signal. Having passed rigorous testing criteria, quartz OSL ages of up to ∼200 ka were considered reliable but significantly underestimated expected ages and prompt a reconsideration of earlier interpretations of the stratigraphy for this site. Rather than representing three separate glaciations, quartz luminescence ages instead suggest that these deposits record up to four independent ice advances during Marine Isotope Stage 6. For both single grain and single aliquot feldspar dating, it was not possible to separate the conflicting influences of anomalous fading and partial bleaching. However, uncorrected feldspar central age model ages were found to be in reasonable agreement with quartz age estimates, and suggest that feldspar ages may still offer useful additional information in this region.