June 21, 2002
Scientists from around the world gather in Reno to discuss advanced methods for archaeological, geological and paleoclimatological dating
The Desert Research Institute, the U. S. National Science Foundation, McMaster University (Canada), and the U.S. Geological Survey are sponsoring the 10th International Conference on Luminescence and Electron Spin Resonance Dating, two advanced methods for determining the age of materials for archaeological, geological and paleoclimatological purposes. The conference, chaired by DRI Research Professor Glenn Berger, will be held on the campus of the University of Nevada, Reno, June 24-28. About 150 experts from around the world are expected to attend the conference, which marks the first time this series has held it's meeting in the the Western Hemisphere.
Dr. Berger, who operates a luminescence chronology laboratory at DRI, said the two emerging analytical technologies give scientists the capacity for precise dating of materials from fairly recently until ages well beyond the capabilities of traditional carbon dating methods. "The time of formation of buried human and animal teeth, as well as the time of burial of single sand grains within sand dunes, fossil soils, lake sediments, and river banks can be dated from as young as a few tens of years old to as old as a million years," he said. "Applications range from archeological materials and sediments to geological problems in earthquake histories and global climate change."
A nonprofit, statewide division of the University and Community College System
of Nevada, DRI pursues a full-time program of basic and applied environmental
research on a local, national, and international scale. Nearly 400 full- and
part-time scientists, technicians, and support staff conduct some 150 research
projects at DRI annually. More than 80 percent of DRI's annual $33 million operating
budget consists of research grants and contracts obtained by its scientists.
The balance is received from the state of Nevada for administrative costs.
