Comparisons of ESR ages of corals using different signals at X- and Q-band: Re-examinations of corals from Huon Peninsula, Papua New Guinea

ESR ages of corals were compared to assess the validity of different dating techniques. Ten coral samples from the Huon Peninsula of north-eastern Papua New Guinea, previously dated by alpha spectrometric and mass spectrometric uranium-series methods (Grun et at., 1992; Omura et al., 1994), were selected for investigation. The ESR spectra were recorded at X- and Q-band, before and after annealing at 150 degrees C for 14 h, with low and high microwave powers. The D-E-values based on the g = 2.0007 signal were not significantly affected by microwave power and preheating treatment. The D-E-values based on the g = 2.0058 signal after annealing appear to be comparable to those based on the y = 2.0007 signal, and both sets of corresponding ESR ages are broadly in agreement with the uranium-series ages. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.