A comparison of single-grain and small aliquot dating of fine sand from Cyrenaica, northern Libya

• Published in: Quaternary geochronology Vol. 10; pp. 62 - 67
• Main Authors: Russell, N.J., Armitage, S.J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.07.2012
• Subjects: Dose distributions; Libya; OSL dating; Single aliquot; Single-grain; Small aliquot; Synthetic aliquot; Synthetic aliquot; Small aliquot; Dose distributions; Single-grain; Single aliquot; Libya; OSL dating
• ISSN: 1871-1014; 1878-0350
• DOI: 10.1016/j.quageo.2012.03.005

Over the last decade, single-grain studies have significantly enhanced optically stimulated luminescence dating of quartz from Quaternary and archaeological sediments. However, single-grain dating is time-consuming and requires specialised equipment, leading a number of authors to advocate measurement of small, multi-grain aliquots, as a viable alternative. In this study, we compare single-grain and small aliquot data from four samples from Cyrenaica, northern Libya. Discrepancies are found between the results obtained using these two techniques, which we attribute to: (1) grains with poor luminescence properties, which are present in the small aliquot data but not the single-grain data and (2) averaging effects in multi-grain aliquots. We suggest that small aliquot measurements are not always an appropriate alternative to single-grain analysis, and that small aliquot datasets should be treated with caution. ► Single-grain (SG) and small aliquot (SA) OSL measurements yield different De distributions. ► Discrepancies are explained by the presence of grains with poor luminescence properties in the SA. ► Averaging effects are also observed in multi-grain measurements. ► We suggest that caution must be exercised when analysing the results of small aliquot dating.