HEИндивидуална стипендия2023–2025

Lyoluminescence · The last formation: dating recrystallisation events of evaporites using lyoluminescence

„Хоризонт Европа“ — Действия „Мария Склодовска-Кюри“

Период: 2023-04-01 → 2025-03-31
Финансиране от ЕС: 189 687 €
Участници: 1
Схема: HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF

Линиите свързват координатора с партньорите.

Накратко на български

Лиолуминесценцията при соли като халита и силвита се изследва, за да се създаде нов метод за определяне на възрастта им чрез излъчването на светлина при разтваряне. Това помага за по-доброто разбиране на миналия климат и тектоничната активност на Земята.

Този кратък обзор е генериран от изкуствен интелект

Кратко обяснение, генерирано от езиков модел по текста на CORDIS. Оригиналът е по-долу.

Резултати накратко

The last formation: dating recrystallisation events of evaporites using lyoluminescence

The Lyoluminescence (LL) project addresses a fundamental challenge in geoscience and luminescence dating: the lack of effective methods for dating evaporite deposits, particularly halite and sylvite. These salt minerals are key geological archives, widely distributed in sedimentary basins, and essential for understanding paleoenvironments, tectonic activity, and the longer-term tracking of climate change. The project proposed a novel solution: exploring lyoluminescence—the emission of light upon dissolution of previously irradiated salts—as the basis for a new dating technique. While LL as a physical phenomenon has been known for decades, its potential as a geochronological tool has not been systematically investigated. The project sought to change that by generating new fundamental knowledge on LL in halite and sylvite, prototyping a portable LL reader (LyoScope), and validating the method through laboratory experiments and real-world sample testing. Through collaboration with the Morsleben repository in Germany, the project successfully demonstrated that LL signals in natural halite and sylvite are measurable, dose-dependent, and reproducible. These results were published in an open-access journal, confirming the feasibility of LL dosimetry. All hardware and software developed were released under open licenses, hosted on Zenodo, ensuring methodological transparency and enabling reproducibility. The project’s broader objective was to establish the methodological foundation for LL-based dating, with potential applications in palaeoclimatology and geochronology. Its impact spans scientific and technological dimensions: extending the range of datable geological materials and introducing a new class of luminescence-based instrumentation. The project did not specifically require integration of social sciences and humanities; however, the ethical, environmental, and policy implications of LL-based dating make it highly relevant for future cross-disciplinary research. These perspectives will be essential in shaping responsible, societally informed applications of the LL method as it progresses beyond proof of concept.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз

Цел на проекта

Sufficient knowledge of the timing and dynamic of Quaternary (last 2.58 million years) climate phases through palaeoenvironmental studies is indispensable for accurate risk assessment and decision-making towards climate resilience of our modern societies. Geochronological frameworks are the backbones of such studies, and new and innovative chronological tools can further boost their impact and value towards a better adaption to climate change. Our project, Lyoluminescence, is about innovation in geochronology designed to contribute to the mission goals of Horizon Europe: “Adaption to Climate Change”. Lyoluminescence is the emission of light while dissolving a previously irradiated solid (such as sodium chloride) into a liquid solvent (water) due to the production of free radicals in the solution. The amount of light increases proportionally with the radiation dose absorbed by the material after crystallisation. Therefore, the process is a suitable candidate to be exploited as a dating method. The signal resetting through dissolution and recrystallisation renders lyoluminescence a potentially dating tool for the last 10 thousand to 5 million years. The aim of this project is the breakthrough development of lyoluminescence as a dating tool on salts (sodium chloride and potassium chloride) for application in geography & Earth sciences. We hypothesise that lyoluminescence naturally occurring in salt minerals such as halite and sylvite will allow dating the last recrystallisation event beyond the age limits of conventional luminescence-dating methods and that these features can be exploited for routine use in Quaternary geochronology. Our project will (1) design, develop and test a new portable lyoluminescence reader, (2) apply the newly developed device to natural salt sites to develop dating protocols and analysis routines, and (3), if successful, map out a commercialisation plan. The project will be hosted at the Ruprecht-Karl University of Heidelberg, Germany.

Оригинален текст от CORDIS (на английски).

Участници

RUPRECHT-KARLS-UNIVERSITAET HEIDELBERG · HeidelbergКоординаторГермания