Thermoluminescence (TL) of feldspar is investigated for its potential to extract temperature histories experienced by rocks exposed at Earth's surface. TL signals from feldspar observed in the laboratory arise from the release of trapped electrons from a continuous distribution of trapping energies that have a range of thermal stabilities. The distribution of trapping energies, or thermal stabilities, is such that the lifetime of trapped electrons at room temperature ranges from less than a year to several billion years. Shorter lifetimes are associated with low-temperature TL signals, or peaks, and longer lifetimes are associated with high temperature TL signals. Here we show that trapping energies associated with shorter lifetimes, or lower-temperature TL signals (i.e. between 200 and 250 ^∘C), are sensitive to temperature fluctuations occurring at Earth's surface over geological timescales. Furthermore, we show that it is possible to reconstruct past surface temperature histories in terrestrial settings by exploiting the continuous distribution of trapping energies. The potential of this method is first tested through theoretical experiments, in which a periodic temperature history is applied to a kinetic model that encapsulates the kinetic characteristics of TL thermometry. We then use a Bayesian approach to invert TL measurements into temperature histories of rocks, assuming that past temperature variations follow climate variations observed in the δ¹⁸O records. Finally, we test the approach on two samples collected at the Mer de Glace (Mont Blanc massif, European Alps) and find similar temperature histories for both samples. Our results show that the TL of feldspar may be used as a paleothermometer.

中文翻译：

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长石的低温热致发光表面古热法

研究长石的热致发光（TL）潜力，以提取出暴露在地球表面的岩石经历的温度历史。在实验室中观察到的长石的TL信号是由具有一定热稳定性的俘获能量的连续分布释放出俘获电子而产生的。俘获能量或热稳定性的分布使得在室温下俘获电子的寿命范围从不到一年到数十亿年。较短的寿命与低温TL信号或峰值相关，而较长的寿命与高温TL信号相关。在这里，我们表明，与捕获的较短寿命相关联的能量，或较低温度TL信号（即200和250之间 ^∘ Ç）对在地质时标范围内地球表面发生的温度波动敏感。此外，我们表明，通过利用俘获能量的连续分布，有可能在陆地环境中重建过去的表面温度历史。首先通过理论实验测试该方法的潜力，其中将周期性温度历史应用于封装了TL测温法动力学特性的动力学模型。然后，我们使用贝叶斯方法来转化TL测量到的岩石的温度历史，假设过去的温度变化遵循观测到的气候变化δ ¹⁸O记录。最后，我们在Mer de Glace（勃朗峰地块，欧洲阿尔卑斯山）收集的两个样本上测试了该方法，并发现两个样本的温度历史相似。我们的结果表明，长石的TL可以用作古温度计。