RELIABILITY EVALUATION OF QUARTZ ESR DATING METHOD ON EARLY PLEISTOCENE SEDIMENT: A CASE STUDY OF JINGYUAN SECTION

doi:10.3969/j.issn.0253-4967.2023.05.001

Abstract

Abstract:

As the most recent period of the geological record, the Quaternary climate change, tectonics and river drainage evolution have been well recorded by Quaternary sediment. Establishing the timing of these geological changes, and of their effects on the earth's environment, is a key element in Quaternary research. Because of dating range limit of quartz OSL dating and ¹⁴C dating, lacking of tephra for K-Ar dating, and strict restrictions for ²⁶Al/¹⁰Be cosmogenic nuclide dating, the samples older than 200ka were critical but difficult in Quaternary dating, while electron spin resonance(ESR)dating method could provide absolute age for late Pliocene and Pleistocene samples. Previous studies show that quartz Al center and Ti-Li center are the most suitable signals for sediment ESR dating, and have been successfully applied into middle-late Pleistocene sediment dating. However, the application of those two centers ESR chronology into early Pleistocene or pre-Quaternary sediment remains confusion.

In this study, early Pleistocene Jingyuan gravel layer sediment deposited at Yellow river were collected for ESR dating. The results of comprehensive comparative analysis of high resolution magneto-stratigraphy and deep-sea oxygen isotope curve of loess-paleosol sequences and high credible ²⁶Al/¹⁰Be cosmogenic nuclide dating age make the Jingyuan gravel layer as the ideal material to evaluate the dating range, especially lower dating range, of the quartz Ti-Li center and Al center, respectively. The results show that:

(1)The quartz Ti-Li center and Al center signal intensity of Jingyuan gravel layer was not saturated within 11 000Gy and 130 00Gy additional gamma ray dose, respectively; combined with the long thermal lifetimes of the quartz Ti-Li center(8×10⁶a)and Al center(7.4×10⁹a), guarantee the ESR dating range for million years.

(2)The single saturation exponential function and “EXP+LIN” functions could provide more accuracy fitting result of equivalent dose of quartz Ti-Li center and Al center, respectively, and the fitting goodness is greater than 0.98.

(3)The average ESR dating results of quartz Ti-Li center and Al center of Jingyuan gravel layer is~(1.67±0.15)Ma and~(1.65±0.69)Ma, respectively, which is consistent with the previously well-known age within the error range.

To better understand the lower dating limit of the quartz ESR dating method, based on the previous analysis of the ESR signal thermal stabilities, we discuss the maximum saturation of the ESR signals and ESR signals' sensitivity. Combined with the fitting goodness evaluation of various fitting functions, we propose that the quartz Ti-Li center and Al center ESR dating method could provide reliable chronological constrains on the sand lens of early Pleistocene gravel layer. The results of our study not only provide a solid theorical foundation for the application of quartz ESR dating method for late Pliocene and early Pleistocene fluvial sediments, but also demonstrate a typical practice example of the ESR method on dating late Cenozoic sediments.

Key words: early Pleistocene, gravel layer, quartz, ESR dating, Al center, Ti-Li center

摘要：

第四纪碎屑沉积物是新构造运动和第四纪地质环境变化的重要信息载体。对第四纪碎屑沉积物, 尤其是对距今200ka以上不含火山灰的粗颗粒样品(如砾石堆积)进行测年, 一直是第四纪年代学研究中的重点和难点问题, 石英ESR测年法是能够直接测定这类样品的测年方法之一。但是, 将石英ESR法测年应用于早更新世沉积物(特别是粗颗粒沉积)结果的可靠性国内外至今鲜有报道, 是目前亟待解决的年代学问题之一。文中基于石英ESR法测年原理和前人的研究成果, 以已知年龄的下更新统靖远砾石层为研究对象, 探讨了早更新世砾石堆积石英ESR法测年的可靠性。结果显示: 1)靖远砾石层石英Ti-Li心在11 000Gy附加剂量范围内ESR信号未饱和, Al心在13 000Gy附加剂量范围内ESR信号未饱和; 2)单饱和指数函数和“指数+线性”函数可分别为Ti-Li心和Al心提供更优的等效剂量拟合结果, 且拟合效果均优于0.98; 3)靖远砾石层石英Ti-Li心和Al心的平均ESR测年结果分别为(1.67±0.15)Ma和(1.65±0.69)Ma, 与已知的宇生核素测年结果(约为(1.73±0.13)Ma)和岩石地层结果在误差范围内是一致的。综上所述, 石英Ti-Li心和Al心ESR法测年均可为早更新世含砂质透镜体的砾石层堆积提供可靠的年代学数据。

关键词: 早更新世, 砾石层, 石英, ESR法测年, Al心, Ti-Li心

WEI Chuan-yi, YIN Gong-ming, WANG Xu-long, WANG Duo, JI Hao, LIU Chun-ru, LI Xin-xiu. RELIABILITY EVALUATION OF QUARTZ ESR DATING METHOD ON EARLY PLEISTOCENE SEDIMENT: A CASE STUDY OF JINGYUAN SECTION[J]. SEISMOLOGY AND GEOLOGY, 2023, 45(5): 1041-1056.

魏传义, 尹功明, 王旭龙, 王度, 姬昊, 刘春茹, 李新秀. 早更新世地层ESR法测年可靠性研究——以靖远剖面为例[J]. 地震地质, 2023, 45(5): 1041-1056.

Figures/Tables 6

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样品编号	²²⁸U /Bg·kg^-1	²²⁶Ra /Bg·kg^-1	²³²Th /Bg·kg^-1	⁴⁰K /Bg·kg^-1	含水量 /%	剂量率 /Gy·ka-1	等效剂量/Gy				年龄/ka
							Ti-Li心		Al心		Ti-Li心		Al心
							SSE	DSE	SSE	EXP+LIN	SSE	DSE	SSE	EXP+LIN
JY01	12.45±5.60	17.88±0.51	20.83±0.51	367.30±12.47	10±3	1.7±0.22	2787±186	2787±197	6769±705	2781±1298	1639±109	1639±116	3982±415	1636±764
JY02	27.02±6.59	24.05±0.62	27.19±0.62	419.44±14.17	10±3	2.13±0.24	3540±367	3540±389	6588±677	3631±1291	1662±172	1662±183	3093±318	1705±606
JY04	25.78±7.31	27.91±0.71	29.57±0.67	412.57±14.11	10±3	2.07±0.24	3546±314	3546±331	6864±1212	3318±2270	1713±152	1713±160	3316±586	1603±1010

样品编号	²²⁸U /Bg·kg^-1	²²⁶Ra /Bg·kg^-1	²³²Th /Bg·kg^-1	⁴⁰K /Bg·kg^-1	含水量 /%	剂量率 /Gy·ka-1	等效剂量/Gy				年龄/ka
							Ti-Li心		Al心		Ti-Li心		Al心
							SSE	DSE	SSE	EXP+LIN	SSE	DSE	SSE	EXP+LIN
JY01	12.45±5.60	17.88±0.51	20.83±0.51	367.30±12.47	10±3	1.7±0.22	2787±186	2787±197	6769±705	2781±1298	1639±109	1639±116	3982±415	1636±764
JY02	27.02±6.59	24.05±0.62	27.19±0.62	419.44±14.17	10±3	2.13±0.24	3540±367	3540±389	6588±677	3631±1291	1662±172	1662±183	3093±318	1705±606
JY04	25.78±7.31	27.91±0.71	29.57±0.67	412.57±14.11	10±3	2.07±0.24	3546±314	3546±331	6864±1212	3318±2270	1713±152	1713±160	3316±586	1603±1010