Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) Dating of Calcareous Fault Gouge of the Ushikubi Fault, Central Japan

Abstract

The ages of fault events of active faults have been estimated using electron spin resonance (ESR) signals of siliceous gouges. This technique of ESR method is limited by obtaining only ages that are greater than tens of millennia. So this study focuses on developing a new technique of using calcareous gouges to gain an insight into the ages of latest seismogenic event within the Holocene. For the first time, signal B of the ESR method has been used to estimate the age of the Ushikubi fault from calcareous gouge. This technique proved reliable because the mean age (1.9 ka) obtained agrees with previous works on indirect age determination of latest fault events by utilizing radiocarbon dating in the study area. However, the result from the ESR technique showed an increase relative to the age of 1 ka that was obtained by the radiocarbon dating method. This disparity may be due to a high dose rate value of 50 Gy/h of artificial irradiation that was used to determine the equivalent dose (ED). Moreover, isochronal experiment revealed that the gouge did not comprise pure carbonates but consisted of a mixture of calcite and quartz grains. A younger age value would have been obtained if a lower artificial irradiation dose rate and a relatively pure carbonate fault gouge were used in the ED determination. © 2013 The Author(s).