Thermoluminescence as a palaeothermometer

Abstract

The results of annealing experiments on a little-metamorphosed (type 3.5) ordinary chondrite are reported. The thermoluminescence (TL) emission characteristics of the annealed samples show trends very similar to those observed in meteorites which have been naturally metamorphosed in various degrees. The trends are also similar to those observed in annealing experiments on terrestrial albite, where the changes are associated with the low-to-high temperature transformation. These results suggest that the TL phosphor in meteorites is feldspar and that TL can be used to estimate paleotemperatures for little-metamorphosed and highly unequilibrated meteorites.