Dating Aeolian Deposits

This is an overview of the geochronological approaches commonly used to date aeolian deposits. Luminescence dating has become an integral part of aeolian research, and is therefore the focus of this section. Methodological details of luminescence protocols, for both quartz and feldspars, are considered, as well as other components of the luminescence age equation that require careful consideration, such as water content or burial depth. Techniques such as electron spin resonance dating, cosmogenic nuclide burial, radiocarbon dating, and tephrochronology are also briefly outlined. The challenges faced when interpreting chronological data are considered, such as the deposition and preservation of aeolian sediment, the meaning of ages in geomorphological context, the continuity and completeness of aeolian archives, and extrapolating and contextualizing data from a site into wider regional frameworks. The potential for dating some unusual aeolian records, such as aeolian sediments in marine cores or tufa carbonates, is also explored. The usefulness of combining geochronological approaches at the same site is highlighted and methodological developments in the field, the laboratory, and with data analysis are pointed to that will improve the dating of aeolian deposits in the future.