Optically Stimulated Luminescence Sensitivity of Quartz for Provenance Analysis.

Finding the source or provenance of quartz grains occurring in a specific location allows us to constrain their transport pathway, which is crucial information to solve diverse problems in geosciences and related fields. The optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) sensitivity (light intensity per unit mass per unit radiation dose) has a high capacity for discrimination of quartz sediment grains and represents a promising technique for provenance analysis. In this study, we tested the use of quartz OSL sensitivity (ultraviolet emission) measured under different preheating temperatures and with blue light stimulation at room temperature (~20 °C) for sediment provenance analysis.