Evidence of Holocene aeolian activity in sand dunes from Lapland

Infra-red stimulated luminescence (IRSL) dating has been applied to potassium-rich feldspars separated from aeolian sands from seven sites in Lapland. A single aliquot additive dose procedure has been used to show that the sands were well bleached at deposition, despite the high latitudes of the sampling sites. The IRSL dates have been compared with independent age control in the form of radiocarbon dates on charcoal from within the same sections and all show good agreement. Independently controlled IRSL ages as young as 500 years show that this method can be accurately applied to geologically recent sediments. The primary phase of dune stabilisation across Lapland has been shown to have occurred later than was previously thought during the Mid-Holocene. The most recent deflation episode occurred during the last 800 years, within the Little Ice Age, and thus may be a climatically controlled event. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.