Isolation of Quartz Grains for Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) Dating of Quaternary Sediments for Paleoenvironmental Research

This protocol is for the isolation of quartz grains by size for luminescence dating of sediments. Outlined are physical cleansing and chemical digestions by soaking sequentially in H₂O_2, HCl, HF, and HCl again to isolate quartz grains. The quartz purity is quantified with microscopic assessment, Raman spectroscopy, and IR depletion ratio.