Luminescence dating
The St Andrews Environmental Luminescence Laboratory is a state-of-the-art geochronology research facility housed in the School of Geography and Geosciences. It is run by Dr Ruth Robinson, Mr Donald Herd and Dr Adrian Finch. The present equipment base comprises 1) two Risø Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) systems with thermal (TL), infrared and blue LED stimulation; 2) a UV-IR photo spectrometer; and 3) a high sensitivity emission spectrometer (thermal, electron beam or x-ray excitation).
Projects undertaken within the dating facility include constraining rates of Earth surface processes to understand the interactions and feedbacks within the Earth System over 1000 - 100,000 year timescales, quantifying the response of sedimentary systems to climate change variability, and undertaking fundamental studies on the causes and nature of luminescence centres in minerals and anomalous luminescence behaviour.
The researchers have experience working with sediments from a wide range of environments, including alluvial, fluvial, shallow marine and glacial deposits. Ongoing projects include chronologies of sedimentation and erosion during Late Quaternary cooling and warming events in Scotland, the Himalayas, and the Central Andes, coastal sedimentation patterns and archaeological material in Scotland and characterising the fundamental luminescence behaviour of quartz and feldspar. For prices of TL/OSL dating, please contact Dr Ruth Robinson.
