Formation of E′1 precursors in quartz: applications to dosimetry and dating

We studied the formation of E′1 precursors in quartz of diverse origin using electron spin resonance. We found that after annealing at 600°C the natural E′1 signal level could be regenerated by heavy gamma radiation plus another heat treatment. The formation process exhibited temperature dependence. We concluded that this dependence might affect our ability to date quartz, but also that signal regeneration can now be applied to obtain minimum ages for Phanerozoic igneous and vein quartz.