Because you are DYING to know...

We know you are DYING to know how far light can penetrate sandstone rocks in the Buffalo River, Arkansas. So we did an experiment. The answer is…. duh duh duh DUHHHH…. about 10 mm. There you have it. Now you can enjoy the rest of your weekend in peace.

Rock surface dating procedures require that we demonstrate that rock surfaces were adequately sun-exposed prior to burial - incomplete bleaching can lead to residual luminescence signals that give us those pesky age over-estimates. So far, it looks like Buffalo River sandstone bleaches quite well. This should make it easy for us to see similar luminescence signal plateaus in ancient rocks linked to the time of their burial.