SatPlat: An algorithm for the standardised determination and normalisation of saturation plateaus of luminescence rock surface dating depth profiles

Abstract

Luminescence rock surface dating has undergone recent advances and is applied in various disciplines and settings. The bleaching of the luminescence signal at rock surfaces is described by several physical models which the measurement data needs to be fitted to. In preparation for fitting, the data must be normalised to a value representing the saturated plateau region. In this study, we conduct a literature review to identify which approaches for determining the plateau region and the normalisation factor have been used. Since there is currently no standardised approach, we developed and tested SatPlat, an algorithm based on the cumulative sum of log-differences of adjacent data points. It works in a semi-automated manner needing the user to manually define two parameters. SatPlat aims to standardise and simplify the determination and normalisation of saturation plateaus in luminescence rock surface dating while also increasing reproducibility.