Luminescence sensitivity of rhine valley loess : Indicators of source variability?
(2022) In Quaternary 5(1).- Abstract
Loess provides a valuable terrestrial record of past environmental conditions, including the dynamics and trajectories of air mass circulation responsible for dust transport. Here we explore variations in the luminescence sensitivity characteristics of sedimentary quartz and feldspar as possible tools for identifying changes in source down a loess-palaeosol sequence (LPS). Luminescence sensitivity is a rapidly measurable index which is the product of interplay between source lithology and the history of the quartz or feldspar clasts. Variations in sensitivity of down profile may therefore reflect changes in sediment provenance as well as other factors such as weathering through pedogenesis. We undertake an empirical investigation of the... (More)
Loess provides a valuable terrestrial record of past environmental conditions, including the dynamics and trajectories of air mass circulation responsible for dust transport. Here we explore variations in the luminescence sensitivity characteristics of sedimentary quartz and feldspar as possible tools for identifying changes in source down a loess-palaeosol sequence (LPS). Luminescence sensitivity is a rapidly measurable index which is the product of interplay between source lithology and the history of the quartz or feldspar clasts. Variations in sensitivity of down profile may therefore reflect changes in sediment provenance as well as other factors such as weathering through pedogenesis. We undertake an empirical investigation of the luminescence sensitivity of quartz and feldspar from different grain-size fractions from the Schwalbenberg LPS in the German Rhine valley. We compare samples from a 30 m core spanning the last full glacial cycle with samples of oxygen isotope stage (OIS) 3–2 age exposed within nearby profile. We find an overall inverse relationship between quartz and feldspar sensitivity, as well as variability in sensitivity between different quartz grain sizes. Statistical analyses yield a significant correlation between IR50 sensitivity from unprocessed sediments and clay content, and feldspar sensitivity and Si/Al ratios down the core. Since Si/Al ratios may indicate changes in provenance, the latter correlation suggests that IR50 measurements on unprocessed samples may be used to provide a reliable, rapid scan of source variability over millennial timescales.
(Less)
- author
- Fitzsimmons, Kathryn E. ; Perić, Zoran LU ; Nowatzki, Maike ; Lindauer, Susanne ; Vinnepand, Mathias ; Prud’homme, Charlotte ; Dave, Aditi K. ; Vött, Andreas and Fischer, Peter
- organization
- publishing date
- 2022-03
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Central Europe, Infrared stimulated luminescence, Loess-palaeosol sequences, Luminescence signal sensitivity, Optically stimulated luminescence, Rhine valley, Schwalbenberg, Sediment provenance
- in
- Quaternary
- volume
- 5
- issue
- 1
- article number
- 1
- publisher
- MDPI AG
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85121642190
- ISSN
- 2571-550X
- DOI
- 10.3390/quat5010001
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- additional info
- Publisher Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
- id
- 755c148d-3f1e-4adc-aa4a-f2d90fb7f8cd
- date added to LUP
- 2022-01-26 10:05:12
- date last changed
- 2023-01-11 14:41:39
@article{755c148d-3f1e-4adc-aa4a-f2d90fb7f8cd,
abstract = {{<p>Loess provides a valuable terrestrial record of past environmental conditions, including the dynamics and trajectories of air mass circulation responsible for dust transport. Here we explore variations in the luminescence sensitivity characteristics of sedimentary quartz and feldspar as possible tools for identifying changes in source down a loess-palaeosol sequence (LPS). Luminescence sensitivity is a rapidly measurable index which is the product of interplay between source lithology and the history of the quartz or feldspar clasts. Variations in sensitivity of down profile may therefore reflect changes in sediment provenance as well as other factors such as weathering through pedogenesis. We undertake an empirical investigation of the luminescence sensitivity of quartz and feldspar from different grain-size fractions from the Schwalbenberg LPS in the German Rhine valley. We compare samples from a 30 m core spanning the last full glacial cycle with samples of oxygen isotope stage (OIS) 3–2 age exposed within nearby profile. We find an overall inverse relationship between quartz and feldspar sensitivity, as well as variability in sensitivity between different quartz grain sizes. Statistical analyses yield a significant correlation between IR<sub>50</sub> sensitivity from unprocessed sediments and clay content, and feldspar sensitivity and Si/Al ratios down the core. Since Si/Al ratios may indicate changes in provenance, the latter correlation suggests that IR<sub>50</sub> measurements on unprocessed samples may be used to provide a reliable, rapid scan of source variability over millennial timescales.</p>}},
author = {{Fitzsimmons, Kathryn E. and Perić, Zoran and Nowatzki, Maike and Lindauer, Susanne and Vinnepand, Mathias and Prud’homme, Charlotte and Dave, Aditi K. and Vött, Andreas and Fischer, Peter}},
issn = {{2571-550X}},
keywords = {{Central Europe; Infrared stimulated luminescence; Loess-palaeosol sequences; Luminescence signal sensitivity; Optically stimulated luminescence; Rhine valley; Schwalbenberg; Sediment provenance}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{1}},
publisher = {{MDPI AG}},
series = {{Quaternary}},
title = {{Luminescence sensitivity of rhine valley loess : Indicators of source variability?}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/quat5010001}},
doi = {{10.3390/quat5010001}},
volume = {{5}},
year = {{2022}},
}