OSLThermo and ESRThermo: Libraries of codes for trapped-charge thermochronometry

Abstract. Over the past fifteen years, trapped-charge (T-C) thermochronometry has been established as an ultra-low temperature (<80 °C) thermochronometric system. Its novelty is its ability to resolve rock cooling within the final few km of Earth's surface, as well as rock-surface temperature changes since the Last Glacial Maximum to the present day. Deriving temperature histories from the luminescence signals of feldspar minerals, or the electron spin resonance signals of quartz minerals, requires the modelling of both signal accumulation and signal loss in response to mineral exposure to ionizing radiation and temperature, as well as athermal signal losses for feldspar minerals. Two open-source libraries have been developed in MATLAB that allow different numerical models to be used for this purpose; the first is applicable to the infra-red stimulated luminescence (IRSL) of feldspar minerals (OSLThermo) and the second to the electron spin resonance (ESR) signal of quartz minerals (ESRThermo). These libraries have been made available in GITHUB and this contribution describes their broad structure, the T-C models that have been implemented and their practical use.

Codes are available for download on GitHub: https://github.com/GeorginaKing/OSLThermo for luminescence thermochronometry & https://github.com/GeorginaKing/ESRThermo for ESR thermochronometry.