Abstract
OPTICAL and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) properties of natural and synthetic calcite (limestone, CaCO3) have been studied extensively and it is known that ionising radiation in the form of cosmic rays or from radioactive elements introduces defects such as CO3− (a hole centre) and CO33− (an electron centre), which are stabilised by impurities to form sources of thermoluminescence1,2. There are four thermal glow peaks above room temperature3,4, some of which can be used to trace the history of calcite5. Here I report the presence of a radiation-induced defect in the growing stalactites of Japan's main calcite caverns and show that estimation of the accumulated defect concentration at several positions, using EPR, makes it possible to determine the age and growth rate of a stalactite.
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IKEYA, M. Dating a stalactite by electron paramagnetic resonance. Nature 255, 48–50 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1038/255048a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/255048a0
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