Quartz-based optical dating of Weichselian coversands from the eastern Netherlands

Abstract

Optical dates are presented for Quaternary aeolian coversand units which are separated by the Usselo Layer (Allerød Interstadial). The dates, which were generated using the sand-sized quartz fraction of the sediments, are in direct agreement with geological expectation and indicate considerable potential of the optical method for dating similar Weichselian coversand sequences throughout NW Europe. The intrinsic advantage of the optical dating method over conventional thermoluminescence (TL) dating of sediment lies in the rapidly sunlight-bleachable nature of the optical dating signal, namely optically-stimulated luminescence (OSL). This advantage over TL is demonstrated by an artificial bleaching experiment.