Datation par résonance de spin électronique (ESR) de carbonates marins quaternaires (Coraux et coquilles de mollusques) Electron spin resonance (ESR ) dating of quaternary marine carbonates (corals and mollusc shells).

摘要

Because Electron spin resonance (ESR) dating ranges between a few thousand and 1-2 million years, this method allows to evaluate ages for many Quaternary geological or archaeological sites. In order to check the reliability of the method applied to the dating of marine carbonates (coral skeletons and mollusc shells), some samples taken from the Mururoa Atoll reef (France) and the Corinthian terraces (Greece) have been analysed. The obtained results underline the main problems encountered in ESR dating for these types of materials: a low geological stability of the dating ESR signal, post-mortem uranium uptake phenomena in mollusc shells and the lack of reliable comparative dating methods for samples older than 300,000 years.