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.