Guide for interpreting and reporting luminescence dating results

The development and application of lumi-nescence dating and dosimetry techniques have grown exponentially in the last several decades. Luminescence methods provide age control for a broad range of geological and archaeological contexts and can char-acterize mineral and glass properties linked to geologic origin, Earth-surface processes, and past exposure to light, heat, and ioniz-ing radiation. The applicable age range for luminescence methods spans the last 500,000 years or more, which covers the period of modern human evolution, and provides context for rates and magnitudes of geologi -cal processes, hazards, and climate change. Given the growth in applications and publi-cations of luminescence data, there is a need for unified, community-driven guidance re-garding the publication and interpretation of luminescence results. This paper presents a guide to the essen-tial information necessary for publishing and archiving luminescence ages as well as supporting data that is transportable and expandable for different research objectives and publication outlets. We outline the in-formation needed for the interpretation of luminescence data sets, including data as-sociated with equivalent dose, dose rate, age models, and stratigraphic context. A brief review of the fundamentals of luminescence techniques and applications, including guid-ance on sample collection and insight into laboratory processing and analysis steps, is presented to provide context for publishing and data archiving.