The Late Glacial History of the Magellan Strait in southern Patagonia, Chile : Testing the Applicability of KF-IRSL Dating

Abstract: The timing of the ice margin retreat of the Late Glacial Patagonian ice sheet (PIS) in southern Patagonia has been the object of discussion for many years. In order to resolve questions about the complex response of the PIS to past climate change; geological interpretation and modelling data needs evaluation against absolute chronology. The aim of this project is to re-map the landforms and sediment of the Magellan Strait, to reconstruct the late glacial ice retreat during the deglaciation and to investigate the applicability of OSL dating to glaciofluvial sediment from this region. Unfortunately previous studies have shown that the quartz OSL luminescence characteristics, of this region, are unsuitable for dating. Therefore the potential of K-feldspar IRSL signals are reviewed and examined. Samples were collected from landforms interpreted as being deposited during the deglaciation of the Magellan ice lobe, with an expected age range between 17.5 and 23 ka, and from recently deposited sediments (<1 ka). Small aliquots and single grain distributions were studied by applying a IR50 SAR protocol with IRSL stimulation at 50°C for 100 s and a preheat of 250 °C (held at 60 s) are measured.  Appropriate uncertainties were assigned to the dose distribution data, by quantifying the laboratory over-dispersion (σOD) parameter (22.2% for small aliquots and 17.7 % for single grains) in laboratory bleached and γ-irradiated samples.  Thereafter the possible effects of incomplete bleaching and anomalous fading were examined. For the natural samples environmental over-dispersions between 30–130 % and mean interpreted residual doses between ~30 and 80 Gy were observed. Statistical models were further applied to identify the part of the dose population that was most likely to have been completely bleached. The models are consistent with each other which imply that they successfully identified the fully-bleached grains in the distributions; however observed discrepancies between the small aliquot and single grain data were also discussed. Large g2day values (on average 7.92±0.6%/decade for large aliquots) were observed but nevertheless, comparing our fading corrected ages to the expected age range result in 2 out of 3 ages consistent with geological interpretation and an established radiocarbon and cosmogenic nuclide chronology suggesting that this correction was done successfully. The results of these investigations suggest that small aliquot/single grain fading can be corrected for using an average value and that KF-IRSL dating is applicable in this part of Southern Patagonia. The third age is supported by an alternative geological interpretation while the two consistent ages imply that in the Magellan Strait the hills of the Brunswick peninsula (70-100 m.a.s.l) were deglaciated at around ~21 ka. Finally some recommendations for future research are considered.