80 Recent Advances in Glacial Geology, Geomorphology, and Chronology
We invite papers on topics related to glacial systems, landforms, and chronology, especially work that has connections to (i) interpretations of past climates and/or (ii) surficial geology and resource extraction.
Monday, 20 October 2025
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
HBGCC, 213AB
Luminescence Rock Surface Dating of Cobble, Boulder, and Outcrop Surfaces: Challenges and Potential
Paper number: 80-6
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 9:45 AM – 10:00 AM
Authors
Abstract
Within the past decade, luminescence dating of hard rock surfaces has emerged as a promising tool for quantifying the recent history of bedrock exposure, burial and erosion. This technique is sensitive to cm-scale disturbances, exposure durations as young as hours or as long as millennia, and burial durations up to hundreds of ka. As such, it has tremendous potential to quantify Late Pleistocene and Holocene landscape evolution, in glacial contexts and beyond. However, as practitioners have measured more samples, both experimental and theoretical complications have emerged. Here, I discuss some of these challenges, including the presence of desert varnish, irregular erosion, empirical calibration methods, surface contamination, and changing seasonal snow cover. I suggest limitations, best practices and future outlook for this technique.
Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 57, No. 6
doi: 10.1130/abs/2025AM-414255
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