77th Kan-nichi Seminar
Date: 16 February, 2023
Time: 16:40-18:10
Venue: Online Zoom

*If you want to join the seminar, please send an e-mail to pattykiku@staff.kanazawa-u.ac.jp.

 

“Quaternary age dating in the Korean Peninsula using OSL and 14C dating”

Jin Cheul Kim (Quaternary Environment Research Center, Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM))

The use of OSL(optically stimulated luminescence) dating will be of value in providing chronological information for understanding the Quaternary site. This method can be applied to a wide range of materials that contain quartz or feldspar. OSL is the appropriate technique when dating the last exposure to daylight. OSL can also be used for heated materials. This method works on samples from as young as a few decades to as old as several hundred thousand years. ¹⁴C dating is a method for determining the age of organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon. Unstable isotopes such as ¹⁴C emit radiation as they transform into a different isotope or element. As a result, decreased amount of ¹⁴C atoms in a sample is to be detected and can be reliably measured the radiocarbon dates.

Today’s talk is designed to introduce the use of OSL and ¹⁴C dating in the Korean Peninsula for providing chronological frameworks. This is divided into three main sections: the first section is an introduction to OSL dating, including the principles underlying the method and the measurement procedures used, which is designed to understand the physical principles underlying OSL dating, and critically assess the results from OSL laboratories. The second section is about understanding the OSL and ¹⁴C results obtained and presenting OSL and ¹⁴C ages. This section gives some indications of what samples are suitable and what age limits are appropriate. The third section is a series of case studies to apply the OSL and ¹⁴C methods in the Korean Peninsula.