A new dosimetric method for evaluating the ESR intensity metrics applied to the early Quaternary sediments dating

The differences in electron spin resonance (ESR) dating results, based on quartz Titanium (Ti) center, arises from the diversity in signal intensity metrics, which is responsible to dose response characteristics and temporal scales in this method application for the Quaternary chronology. To solve this issue, a multiple evaluation in terms of characteristic saturation dose ($D_0$), radiation sensitivity (${\kappa }_{\mathrm{rad.}}$), and signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio has been employed here for ESR intensity metrics determination, presenting the most excellent dosimeter. On the basis of this method, three sandy samples taken from the gravel layers accumulated on the oldest Yellow River terraces T9, T8, and T7 have been constrained tightly. In these obtained results, the Ti Option A as the most excellent dosimeter has well determined the terrace T9, T8, and T7 at 1599 ± 269 ka, 1695 ± 176 ka, and 1364 ± 170 ka, respectively, which can be roughly correlated with the basal ages of the aeolian loess overlying directly the three terrace treads. This correlation has not only further checked the Ti Option A as the most excellent dosimeter, but also pointed out a higher reliability in chronological determination, implying that this dosimetric method can probably be widely used for the fluvial deposits dating with early Quaternary timescale.