Using thermoluminescence signals from feldspars for low-temperature thermochronology

Natural thermoluminescence (TL) signals from feldspar crystals extracted from thermally stable drill cores (View the MathML sourceC) exhibit a strong dependence on geologic and laboratory thermal conditions. As burial temperature increases, the position of the TL glow curve at half-maximum intensity (i.e., the T1/2 parameter) shifts to higher measurement temperatures. This shift is also observed following isothermal treatments in the laboratory. This relationship can be explained using a kinetic model originally developed for the optical luminescence dating of feldspar grains. The thermal history of a sample is preserved in the degree of electron trap saturation as a function of thermal detrapping probability, which varies with recombination distance. A natural feldspar sample contains a range of thermal stabilities: the least stable traps will remain empty, the most stable will be full, and those traps which are partially filled will, in the case of thermal equilibrium, be diagnostic of the storage temperature. The T1/2 parameter of a TL glow curve reflects which sites remain occupied. This interpretation is further borne out by additive dose measurements which illustrate that samples buried at lower temperatures are fully saturated at lower TL measurement temperatures (View the MathML sourceC) relative to warmer samples. This signal is estimated to be useful in rapidly-cooling bedrock and should grow measurably for ∼102−106 years.