This study examines the feasibility of dating beach ridges associated with pluvial lake highstands in the Great Basin, USA, using rock surface luminescence dating techniques. Limestone and volcanic rock lithologies prominent in this region pose challenges, but preliminary measurements show promise. We show that ages derived from beach ridge gravel rocks record the timing of lake highstands as well as climatically driven soil formation processes.

Ice sheet mass loss is adding to sea-level rise, and is expected to increase, but by how much and how fast remains uncertain. Isotopes produced in rock at the Earth’s surface provide records of past ice sheet thinning which help predict future change but are more effective if they are precise enough to determine past changes to the nearest thousand years. Carbon-14 is a unique isotope that provides an accurate record of past change since the last ice age, however, its precision can be improved.

The Christiana Islands represents the oldest subaerial volcanism in the Christiana-Santorini-Kolombo volcanic field, but the exact age of this volcano has been unknown. This study reports new ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages of ten volcanic samples from Christiana Island that cluster between 2.5–2.7 Ma with small uncertainties (0.02–0.14 Ma). One sample dated much younger: 133 ka; this is most likely derived from the Middle Pumice Plinian eruption of Santorini.

We evaluate luminescence signal resetting in single-grain K-feldspar from modern fluvial analogues in Chile. Our results show a uniform sample-average bleaching trend but strong grain-scale variability. Residual doses are independent of feldspar geochemistry and catchment lithology but scale with natural dose. Taken together, these findings refine palaeodose correction strategies and support defining sample‑specific bleaching thresholds for luminescence‑based sediment tracing.

The mineral biotite is a common rock-forming mineral and notable for its ability to incorporate Rb into its structure. Microanalytical tools such a laser ablation and tandem mass spectrometry, allows Rb-Sr biotite dating with context preserved. This study reveals Sr mobility that is controlled by location in a rock. Reconstructing the timing of geological events using biotite Rb-Sr geochronology is, therefore, contingent on grain-scale evaluation of biotite textures.

Cosmogenic surface-exposure dating relies on accurate constraint of nuclide production rates. To improve dating resolution, we compare ¹⁰Be concentrations in deglacial surfaces in Scotland to local ¹⁴C targets to test the performance of 8 production rates. Of these, the Rannoch Moor rate from central Scotland gives the best fit with the ¹⁴C; others under-predict exposure age by up to 7 %. Our ¹⁰Be record also shows retreat of the last ice sheet was disrupted by a brief pause ~16 200 years ago.

We studied changes in Earth's magnetic field between 170 000 and 270 000 years ago using beryllium data from Antarctic ice. Our results reveal three periods when the magnetic field weakened, including one major event with a rapid fall and gradual recovery. These findings help explain how Earth's magnetic field behaves during short-term disturbances and improve the timing of past climate and geological records.

Natural fission of Uranium U-238 in minerals produce tracks in the crystal lattice. The density of tracks crossing the mineral surface is traditionally used together with the uranium concentration and the decay constant to calculate the age of fast-cooling minerals. A new equation is developed which includes the track length distribution of the tracks. It is then possible to age date the tracks as a function of their length. A detailed tectonic history of the minerals can then be derived.