Devitrification Dating: A Pilot Study with Basalts from the Eastern Snake River Plain, Idaho.

Abstract:

The devitrification of glass in geological systems is of interest for many reasons. One means of quantitatively tracking the process is to measure the thermoluminescence (TL) sensitivity of the samples, i.e. the light produced by a sample as it is heated in the laboratory after exposure to a standard radiation dose, the natural TL signal having been previously removed. As crystallization occurs, the TL signal increases as luminescent crystals form in the glass. Kinetic studies of the devitrification of glass in basalts suggest that it the process takes many millions of years suggesting that TL sensitivity might be able to date lavas over this time-range.

We collected five samples of basalt flows at the Craters of the Moon, Idaho, and surrounding areas as part of the FINESSE team, a member of SSERVI. Radiocarbon and Ar-Ar ages are 6500, 6600, 57,000, 116,000, and 120,000 years. After grinding to ~200 mm grains, 4 mg aliquots were placed in a TL rig and heated to 500^oC to remove their natural TL signal. They were then irradiated with a 150 mCi ⁹⁰Sr beta source for 3 minutes and the TL induced was measured.

The TL counts obtained for these samples, in order of increasing age, are 150±25, 88.3±10, 153±53, 616±160, 533±76, the uncertainty being based on triplicate measurements. These data yield a relationship between TL sensitivity and age of Age = 232 x TL sensitivity – 1.638 x 10⁴ with an R² = 0.97.

Many factors that influence the rate of devitrification need to be addressed before a quantitative method of dating, independent of isotopic methods, can be claimed. The composition of the glass, the amount of water in the basalt, and storage temperature, are all important factors. However, this small pilot study is encouraging and will be extended by further measurements of basalts from Idaho and Hawai’i before deciding whether it is worth investigating the complicating factors.