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ESR dating of fossil teeth: In which extent the thickness of adjacent tissues should be taken into account in the external beta dose rate evaluation?

Mathieu Duval

Mathieu Duval

Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution (ARCHE), Environmental futures Research Institute, Griffith UniversityMount Gravatt, Australia
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Duval, Mathieu
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Loїc Martin

Loїc Martin

Institut de Recherche sur les Archéomatériaux, UMR 5060 CNRS Université Bordeaux Montaigne, Centre de Recherche en Physique Appliquée à l’Archéologie (CRP2A), Maison de l’archéologiePessac Cedex, France
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Martin, Loїc
  
Jun 04, 2019
ESR dating of fossil teeth: In which extent the thickness of adjacent tissues should be taken into account in the external beta dose rate evaluation?'s Cover Image
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Article Category: Regular Articles
Published Online: Jun 04, 2019
Page range: 102 - 110
Received: May 22, 2018
Accepted: Mar 07, 2019
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/geochr-2015-0105
Keywords
© 2018 M. Duval and L. Martin, published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Fig. 1

Dose rate evaluation: tooth geometry and radioactive sources to consider in ESR dating of tooth enamel (Modified from Rink (1997) and Duval (2015)). Shown here is the cement-enamel-dentine geometry. Key: (*) is the removed enamel thicknesses (a few tens of μm) from both sides of the enamel layer; α, γ, β represent alpha, beta and gamma radiations affecting the enamel layer. In blue italics, the radioactive sources present in each material (dental tissues and sediment).
Dose rate evaluation: tooth geometry and radioactive sources to consider in ESR dating of tooth enamel (Modified from Rink (1997) and Duval (2015)). Shown here is the cement-enamel-dentine geometry. Key: (*) is the removed enamel thicknesses (a few tens of μm) from both sides of the enamel layer; α, γ, β represent alpha, beta and gamma radiations affecting the enamel layer. In blue italics, the radioactive sources present in each material (dental tissues and sediment).

Fig. 2

2D schematic display of the 5 cases simulated with DosiVox (along z axis). The number of voxels used for each component along the z-axis is indicated in the red boxes. Note that a 1×1 voxel of 20×20 mm was considered in the x-y plan for the simulations. Simulations were performed by considering 10, 20 and 30 pm of U-238 in the cement.
2D schematic display of the 5 cases simulated with DosiVox (along z axis). The number of voxels used for each component along the z-axis is indicated in the red boxes. Note that a 1×1 voxel of 20×20 mm was considered in the x-y plan for the simulations. Simulations were performed by considering 10, 20 and 30 pm of U-238 in the cement.

Fig. 3

Variation along the z axis of the beta dose rate values derived from the DosiVox simulations. The high frequency variability (“saw-tooth
Variation along the z axis of the beta dose rate values derived from the DosiVox simulations. The high frequency variability (“saw-tooth" shape) that may locally be observed are artifacts of the Geant4 “cut in range” process for secondary particle simulations. This does not affect the calculation of average dose rate values nor the general shape of the curves. A: example of case 3 (0.5 mm-thick cement with a uranium concentration of 30 ppm). The individual contributions from the dentine, cement and sediment are shown. B: Total beta dose rate values (for a given case obtained from the sum of each individual contribution displayed in A) obtained for the 5 scenarios. To facilitate data visualization, data were aligned to the right.

Fig. 4

Variation of the different components of the beta dose rate depending on cement thickness and uranium concentration (derived from numerical values displayed in Table S1). A: Variation of the total beta dose rate. To facilitate comparisons, values have been normalized to that corresponding to 0 mm-thick cement (Case 5). B: Variation of the relative contribution of each component to the total beta dose rate (values corresponding to 20 ppm U-238 in cement).
Variation of the different components of the beta dose rate depending on cement thickness and uranium concentration (derived from numerical values displayed in Table S1). A: Variation of the total beta dose rate. To facilitate comparisons, values have been normalized to that corresponding to 0 mm-thick cement (Case 5). B: Variation of the relative contribution of each component to the total beta dose rate (values corresponding to 20 ppm U-238 in cement).

Fig. 5

Impact of the Reflection algorithm on the simulated dose rate values. A: comparison of the total external beta dose rates obtained with and without the reflection algorithm (example of Case #4). B: Relative increase of the total beta dose rate due to the use of the reflection algorithm (compared to values from Supplementary material, Table S2) as a function of cement thickness (from 0 to 2 mm, case #5 to #1).
Impact of the Reflection algorithm on the simulated dose rate values. A: comparison of the total external beta dose rates obtained with and without the reflection algorithm (example of Case #4). B: Relative increase of the total beta dose rate due to the use of the reflection algorithm (compared to values from Supplementary material, Table S2) as a function of cement thickness (from 0 to 2 mm, case #5 to #1).

Fig. 6

A: relative contribution of the cement to the beta dose rate from the outer side (sediment + cement) as a function of cement thickness and uranium concentration; B: respective proportions of cement and sediment components in the beta dose rate from the outer side of the enamel layer.
A: relative contribution of the cement to the beta dose rate from the outer side (sediment + cement) as a function of cement thickness and uranium concentration; B: respective proportions of cement and sediment components in the beta dose rate from the outer side of the enamel layer.
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