Dating of Late Pleistocene terrace deposits of the River Rhine using Uranium series and luminescence methods : potential and limitations

Uranium-series dating of pedogenic carbonate crusts from fluvial gravels is tested using Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) ages as references. OSL dating yielded ages of 3015 ka and 1311 ka, which correlate with the cold periods of the Last Glacial Maximum and the Younger Dryas. These ages are internally coherent and consistent with the geological background and are thus regarded as reliable. Most of the U/Th results scatter widely in the 230Th/232Th vs. 234U/232Th isochron diagram, making regression unrealistic. Semiquantitative age estimates from the data were found to be mostly older than the OSL ages and the geological context. It is suggested that a heterogeneous initial 230Th input, not relatable to a detrital component, is responsible for the observed discrepancies. This input may be due to bacterial activities and Th transport on organic colloids. It appears necessary to avoid samples where bacteria could have contributed to carbonate precipitation. Further, the relative importance of this problem decreases with sample age, so that U/Th dating of sinters is expected to be more reliable in the <100 ka age range.