This award supports a study of the potential of thermoluminescence (TL) to date high Arctic deglacial marine sediments. A suite of modern and, independently dated, early Holocene and Late Quaternary sediments were specifically collected from western Spitsbergen to explore new TL methods to date deglacial sequences, as well as to test the accuracy, precision and temporal limitations of the technique. This research is designed to provide needed insight into the basic TL properties of sediments and to develop procedures that can routinely date sediments. The focus of laboratory studies will be to gain a better understanding of which particle size and mineralogic component yield the most chronologically sensitive and stable TL signal. This study will outline the fundamental basis for extending the TL method to Arctic deglacial marine-sediments, ultimately providing a new method for constraining the timing of Late and Middle Quaternary Arctic glaciations.
