Single-grain TT-OSL dating results confirm an Early Pleistocene age for the lower Moulouya River deposits (NE Morocco)

Bartz, Melanie; Arnold, Lee J.; Demuro, Martina; Duval, Mathieu; King, Georgina E.; Rixhon, Gilles; Posada, Claudia; Parés, Josep M.; Brückner, Helmut

doi:10.1016/j.quageo.2018.04.007

Cited by 22 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…However, electron spin resonance (ESR) dating offered a useful alternative way to gain further chronological information. Based on the multiple-centre approach in fluvial environments (Duval et al, 2015), aluminium (Al) and titanium (Ti) centres were measured in quartz; this was cross-checked with palaeomagnetic analyses (Bartz et al, 2018). Thus, a robust geochronological framework was established for the fluvial terraces, with numerical ages dating back to the Early Pleistocene and ranging between ∼ 1.5 and ∼ 1.1 Ma (Bartz et al, 2018) (Fig.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Quaternary fluvial environments in NE Morocco inferred from geochronological and sedimentological investigations

Bartz

2019

E&G Quaternary Sci. J.

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confidence: 99%

Quaternary fluvial environments in NE Morocco inferred from geochronological and sedimentological investigations

Bartz

2019

E&G Quaternary Sci. J.

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“…These inclusions may explain the higher elemental concentrations for these two samples (Table 2). However, the higher K contents can neither be explained by inclusions, nor by K-feldspar contamination, given the favourable IR depletion ratios 42 measured in the associated luminescence dating study 32 .…”

Section: The Role Of Alpha Efficiency In Dose Rate Evaluationmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…This study focuses on two quartz samples (C-E3886 and C-E3891, initial grain size 100–200 µm) from fluvial terrace sediments deposited by the Moulouya River during the Early Pleistocene in its lowermost sedimentary basin (i.e., the Triffa Plain in NE Morocco) 20 . These samples have been specifically selected because (i) they have been previously ESR dated following the multiple centre (MC) approach and using the MAAD method 20 (full details about chemical pretreatment, mineral separation and HF etching can be found therein), and (ii) successful comparative dating studies have been undertaken on similar, contemporaneous alluvial sections in this sedimentary basin 32 .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although the resulting ages would still point to an Early Pleistocene chronology compatible with the independent age control produced by palaeomagnetic data, the stratigraphic interpretations of the ESR dating results become difficult to reconcile. In particular, sample C-E3891 has been collected from the uppermost unit, as in the adjacent section BOU (sample C-E3824) 20,32 , and an age difference of 0.3–0.4 Ma between the two ESR samples (C-E3891 and C-E3824) from these two sections, as well as with the independent single-grain TT-OSL ages obtained from the upper units of BOU 32 , would seem unrealistic. Consequently, the high concentration of U and Th obtained for C-E3886 and C-E3891 do not seem likely to be representative of the true internal dose rates.…”

Section: The Role Of Alpha Efficiency In Dose Rate Evaluationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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First experimental evaluation of the alpha efficiency in coarse-grained quartz for ESR dating purposes: implications for dose rate evaluation

Bartz

Arnold

Spooner

et al. 2019

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We present the first experimental evaluation of the alpha efficiency value for electron spin resonance (ESR) dating of coarse quartz grains, which is used for the evaluation of the internal and external alpha dose rate components. Based on our results, we recommend the use of an a-value of 0.07 ± 0.01 (1σ) for both the Al and Ti centres. Although we acknowledge that quartz ESR alpha efficiency may be sample dependent, and could also be impacted by other sources of uncertainty, this potential variability is presently impossible to evaluate given the absence of other experimental a-values available in the ESR dating literature. Measured radioactivity of quartz grains from the Moulouya catchment (NE Morocco) provides an internal dose rate in the range of 50–70 µGy/a when using an a-value of 0.07. The use of this empirically derived a-value for the evaluation of the internal and external alpha dose rate has a limited overall impact on the final ESR age results: they change by <2% and <3%, respectively, in comparison with those obtained with an assumed a-value. However, the large variability observed among the broader sample dataset for quartz internal radioactivity and hydrofluoric acid (HF) etching rates underscores the potential importance of undertaking experimental evaluations of alpha dose rate parameters for each dated sample.

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“…The latter are used to propose incision rates at ∼0.3 m/ka in the frontal structures of the Middle Atlas to be estimated. On the other hand, a ∼33 m thick fluvial deposition, whose top lies at +24-33 m above the channel, has been dated in the lower Moulouya around ∼1.5-1.1 Ma ago (Bartz et al, 2019).…”

Section: Geological Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geomorphological analysis using small unmanned aerial vehicles and submeter GNSS (Gara Soultana butte, High Plateaus Basin, Eastern Morocco)

et al. 2020

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The High Plateaus Basin is an important region to understand landscape evolution and human occupation in North Africa during the Quaternary. We focused on the Gara Soultana area, applying Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, photogrammetry and a submeter Global Navigation Satellite System, for large scale geomorphological mapping. This work in the upper Moulouya catchment has allowed us to define the landform sequence. Conglomerate platforms previously considered to be fluvial terraces, are interpreted here as exhumed bedrock layers of the Plio-Pleistocene stacked series. The El Haï river incision consists of a first phase, represented only by the exhumation of Gara Soultana butte, and a second phase when five strath terraces developed from +20-22 m to the thalweg, formed since the Middle Pleistocene. Holocene terraces could be associated with brief aggradation phases in the lower Moulouya catchment due to rapid climate changes. Fluvial incision led to the formation of mantled pediments and talus flatirons.

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Single-grain TT-OSL dating results confirm an Early Pleistocene age for the lower Moulouya River deposits (NE Morocco)

Cited by 22 publications

References 29 publications

Quaternary fluvial environments in NE Morocco inferred from geochronological and sedimentological investigations

Quaternary fluvial environments in NE Morocco inferred from geochronological and sedimentological investigations

First experimental evaluation of the alpha efficiency in coarse-grained quartz for ESR dating purposes: implications for dose rate evaluation

Geomorphological analysis using small unmanned aerial vehicles and submeter GNSS (Gara Soultana butte, High Plateaus Basin, Eastern Morocco)

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