Professor Geoff Duller

Professor
BA Geography 1987 (St Catherine's College, Oxford)
PhD 1992 (Aberystwyth) Photograph of Professor Geoff Duller.

Contact

Email: ggd@aber.ac.uk
Office: E21c
Phone: +44 (0)1970 622 611
Fax: +44 (0)1970 622 659

Responsibilities

  • Member of Research and Strategy Committee
  • Member of Management Group
  • Director of Postgraduate Research
  • Head of Quaternary Environmental Change Research Group
  • Director of Aberystwyth Luminescence Research Laboratory
  • Radiation Protection Supervisor for IGES

Teaching Areas

Modules Taught

Module coordinator for:

  • Palaeoenvironmental Change Beyond the Ice Sheets (GG33120)
  • Research Techniques In Quaternary Science (EAM2630)

Contributes to:

  • Fieldwork for Environmental Earth Science (EA21720)
  • Reading The Ice Age Record (GG21110)
  • Dissertation Planning:  Quaternary Environmental Change (EAM2510)
  • Research Dissertation In Quaternary Environmental Change (EAM3450)

Research

Group Affiliation

Research Interests

My research is focussed on the development and application of luminescence dating. The ultimate outcome of this research has been the dating of key geological, geomorphological and archaeological sites, providing an improved understanding of Quaternary environmental change, and of the rate of operation of a range of geomorphological processes. In order to achieve the goal of accurate dating, four main themes have been pursued, namely: (1) design and development of luminescence equipment capable of making the necessary luminescence measurements; (2) characterisation of mineral luminescence properties to improve our understanding of their physical properties; (3) the development of analytical procedures for luminescence measusurement, especially for the determination of the equivalent dose; and (4) the writing of research software tools for the collection and analysis of luminescence data. Through the development of these four themes, I have then been able to apply the resulting methods to both (5) geomorphological and geological applications and (6) archaeological applications. This ongoing research effort has resulted in publication of over 105 papers in ISI journals, either published or in press, since 1991. As well as developing luminescence as a dating method I am also very keen to disseminate knowledge of the technique through writing review papers and more accessible items. In 2008 English Heritage published a set of guidelines that I wrote for the use of Luminescence Dating in Archaeology. The same guidelines are also of value in geomorphological and geological context.

The key achievements of my research career are the development of single aliquot methods of equivalent dose determination, the design and construction of the only practicable single grain OSL system for measurement of the equivalent dose from single sand-sized mineral grains, the development of sophisticated software tools for the collection, processing and analysis of luminescence data, and the application of all of these to dating of a range of Quaternary sites, including Blombos Cave, the site of the earliest evidence for modern human behaviour. In recent years I have become involved in work to assess the feasibility of using luminescence to provide chronological control for geomorphological activity on the surface of Mars.

As well as being on the editorial board of Radiation Measurements and Archaeometry, I also edit Ancient TL, a journal dedicated to luminescence and electron spin resonance dating methods.

IGES Projects (Principle Investigator)

IGES Projects (Affiliated With)

Current PhD Students

Research Assistants

Biography

Professor Geoff Duller has been on the staff at the Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences since 1995, and was awarded a personal chair in 2005. He studied for a degree in Geography at St Catherine's College Oxford (BA 1987), and then spent a year teaching geography at Massey University, New Zealand. He returned to Aberystwyth in 1989 to study for a PhD on luminescence dating of Quaternary sediments in New Zealand (PhD 1992). As part of this thesis he developed the first widely adopted single aliquot methods for luminescence dating. He undertook postdoctoral research at Aberystwyth, and then at the University of Adelaide and Risø National Laboratory.

In 1995 he returned to Aberystwyth to take up a lectureship. In 2000 he became director of the Aberystwyth Luminescence Research Laboratory.

In 2012 he was awarded the Bigsby Medal by the Geological Society of London in recognition of his work in the development and application of luminescence dating.

Staff Publications

Peer Reviewed Book Chapters & Journal Articles

In Press

  1. Chapot MS, Roberts HM, Duller GAT, Lai ZP. In Press. A comparison of natural- and laboratory-generated dose response curves for quartz optically stimulated luminescence signals from Chinese loess. Radiation Measurements.

2012

  1. Clift PD, Carter A, Giosan L, Durcan JA, Duller GAT, Macklin MG, Alizai A, Tabrez AR, Danish M, VanLaningham S, and Fuller DQ. 2012. U-Pb zircon dating evidence for a Pleistocene Sarasvati River and capture of the Yamuna River. Geology 40, 211-214. DOI
  2. Duller GAT. 2012. Cross-talk during single grain optically stimulated luminescence measurements of quartz and feldspar. Radiation Measurements 47: 219-224. DOI
  3. Duller GAT, Wintle AG. 2012. A review of the thermally transferred optically stimulated luminescence signal from quartz for dating sediments. Quaternary Geochronology 7: 6-20. DOI
  4. Duller GAT. 2012. Improving the accuracy and precision of equivalent doses determined using the optically stimulated luminescence signal from single grains of quartz.  Radiation Measurements 47: 770-777. DOI
  5. Giosan L, Clift PD, Macklin MG, Fuller DQ, Constantinescu S, Durcan JA, Stevens T, Duller GAT, Tabrez AR, Gangal K, Adhikari R, Alizai A, Filip F, VanLaningham S, Syvitski JPM. 2012. Fluvial landscapes of the Harappan Civilization. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. DOI
  6. Harrison S, Glasser NF, Duller GAT, Jansson K. 2012. Early and mid-Holocene age for the Tempanos moraines, Laguna San Rafael, Patagonian Chile. Quaternary Science Reviews 31: 82-92. DOI
  7. Porat N, Dullr GAT, Roberts HM, Piasetzky E, Finkelstein I. 2012.  OSL dating in multi-strata Tell: Meggido (Israel) as a case study. Quaternary Geochronology 10: 359-366. DOI
  8. Rowan AV, Roberts HM, Jones MA, Duller GAT, Covey-Crump SJ, Brocklehurst SH. 2012. Optically stimulated luminescence dating of glaciofluvial sediments on the Canterbury Plains, South Island, New Zealand. Quaternary Geochronology 8:10-22. DOI
  9. Smedley RK, Duller GAT, Pearce NJG, Roberts HM. 2012. Determining the K-content of single-grains of feldspar for luminescence dating. Radiation Measurements 47: 790-796.
  10. Stirling RJ, Duller GAT, Roberts HM. 2012. Developing a single-aliquot protocol for measuring equivalent dose in biogenic carbonates. Radiation Measurements 47: 725-731.

2011

  1. Barham, L., Phillips, W., Maher, BA., Karloukovski, V., Duller, GAT., Jain, M., Wintle, AG. 2011. The dating and interpretation of a Mode 1 site in the Luangwa Valley, Zambia. Journal of Human Evolution, 60: 549-570. DOI
  2. Duller GAT. 2011. What date is it? Should there be an agreed datum for luminescence ages? Ancient TL, 29: 1-3. PDF.
  3. Durcan JA, Duller GAT. 2011. The fast ratio: a rapid measure for testing the dominance of the fast component in the initial OSL signal from quartz. Radiation Measurements, 46: 1065-1072. DOI
  4. Li B, Li SH, Duller GAT, Wintle AG. 2011. Infrared stimulated luminescence measurements of single grains of K-rich feldspar for isochron dating. Quaternary Geochronology, 6: 71-81. DOI
  5. Tsukamoto S, Duller GAT, Wintle AG, Muhs DR. 2011. Assessing the potential for luminescence dating of basalts. Quaternary Geochronology, 6: 61-70. DOI
    DDuller##############################################
    # keepWarm.py
    #############################################
    # A python script to warm your fingers up.
    # Generates a set number of random numbers then pauses to
    # check for use feedback
    #
    import random as random
    import sys
    i = 0
    warm = False
    nRandBlock = 10000000 # Change this for longer time periods between checks
    while warm == False:
        j = 0
        while j < 10000000:
            random.uniform(0,1)
            i = i + 1
            j = j + 1
        warmStr = str(raw_input('Warm enough yet?'))
        if warmStr == "yes" or warmStr == "y":
            warm = True
    print "Generated " + str(i) + " random numbers!"

2010

  1. Macklin MG, Tooth S, Brewer PA, Noble PL, Duller GAT. 2010. Holocene flooding and river development in a Mediterranean steepland catchment: the Anapodaris Gorge, south central Crete, Greece. Global and Planetary Change, 70: 35-52.  DOI
  2. Davids F, Roberts HM, Duller GAT. 2010. Is X-ray core scanning non-destructive? Assessing the implications for Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating of sediments. Journal of Quaternary Science, 25: 348-353 DOI
  3. Davids F, Duller GAT and Roberts HM. 2010. Testing the use of feldspars for optical dating of hurricane overwash deposits. Quaternary Geochronology 5: 125- 130. DOI
  4. Durcan JA, Roberts HM, Duller GAT, Alizai AH. 2010. Testing the use of range-finder OSL dating to inform field sampling and laboratory processing strategies. Quaternary Geochronology. 5: 86-90. DOI
  5. Kim JC, Duller GAT, Roberts HM, Wintle AG, Lee Y I, Yi SB. 2010. Re-evaluation of the chronology of the palaeolithic site at Jeongokri, Korea, using OSL and TT-OSL signals from quartz. Quaternary Geochronology. 5: 365-370 DOI
  6. Tsukamoto S, Duller GAT, Wintle AG, Frechen M. 2010. Optical dating of a Japanese marker tephra using plagioclase. Quaternary Geochronology. 5: 274-278. DOI
  7. Williams MAJ, Williams FM, Duller GAT, Munro RN, El Tom OAM, Barrows TT, Macklin MG, Woodward J, Talbot M. Haberlah D. and Fluin J. 2010. Late Quaternary floods and droughts in the Nile Valley, Sudan: New evidence from optically stimulated luminescence and AMS radiocarbon dating. Quaternary Science Reviews. 29: 1116-1137 DOI
  8. Adamiec G, Duller GAT, Roberts HM, Wintle AG. 2010. Improving the TT-OSL SAR protocol through source trap characterisation. Radiation Measurements 45: 768-777. DOI

2009

  1. Porat N, Duller GAT, Amit R, Zilberman E, Enzel Y. 2009. Recent faulting in the southern Arava, Dead Sea Transform - evidence from single grain luminescence dating. Quaternary International, 199: 34-44. DOI
  2. Tsukamoto S, Duller GAT, Murray AS, Choi JH. 2009. Application of luminescence dating to Quaternary tectonic movements and environmental change. Quaternary International, 199: 1-2. DOI
  3. Madsen AT, Duller GAT, Donnelly JP, Roberts HM, Wintle AG. 2009. A chronology of hurricane landfalls at Little Sippewissett Marsh, Massachusetts, USA, using optical dating. Geomorphology, 109(1-2): 36-45. DOI
  4. Roberts HM, Durcan JA, Duller GAT. 2009. Exploring procedures for the rapid assessment of optically stimulated luminescence range-finder ages. Radiation Measurements, 44: 582-587. DOI
  5. Kim JC, Duller GAT, Roberts HM, Wintle AG, Lee Y I, Yi SB. 2009. Dose dependence of thermally transferred optically stimulated luminescence signals in quartz. Radiation Measurements, 44: 132-143. DOI
  6. Preoteasa L, Roberts HM, Duller GAT, Vespremeanu-Stroe A. 2009. Late-Holocene coastal dune system evolution in the Danube delta, NW Black Sea basin. Journal of Coastal Research, SI 56: 347-351.
  7. Kim JC, Roberts HM, Duller GAT, Lee Y I, Yi SB. 2009. Assessment of diagnostic tests for evaluating the reliability of SAR De values from polymineral and quartz fine grains. Radiation Measurements, 44: 149-157. DOI
  8. Porat N, Duller GAT, Roberts HM, Wintle AG. 2009. A simplified SAR protocol for TT-OSL. Radiation Measurements, 44: 538-542. DOI
  9. Duller GAT, Penkman KEH, Wintle AG. 2009. Assessing the potential for using biogenic calcites as dosemeters for luminescence dating. Radiation Measurements, 44: 429-433. DOI
  10. Tooth S, Rodnight H, McCarthy TS, Duller GAT, Grundling AT. 2009. Late Quaternary dynamics of a South African floodplain wetland and the implications for assessing recent human impacts. Geomorphology, 106: 278-291. DOI
  11. Tsukamoto S, Duller GAT, Murray AS, Choi J-H. 2009. Introduction to the special issue on application of luminescence dating in geomorphology. Geomorphology, 109(1-2): 1. DOI

2008

  1. Jacobs Z, Wintle AG, Roberts RG, Duller GAT. 2008. Equivalent dose distributions from single grains of quartz at Sibudu, South Africa: context, causes and consequences for optical dating of archaeological deposits. Journal of Archaeological Science, 35: 1808-1820. DOI
  2. Jacobs Z, Wintle AG, Duller GAT, Roberts RG, Wadley L. 2008. New ages for the post-Howiesons Poort, late and final Middle Stone Age at Sibudu, South Africa. Journal of Archaeological Science, 35: 1790-1807. DOI
  3. Harrison S, Glasser NF, Winchester V, Haresign E, Warren C, Duller GAT, Bailey R, Ivy-Ochs S, Jansson K, Kubik PW. 2008. Glaciar León, Chilean Patagonia: late-Holocene chronology and geomorphology. The Holocene, 18: 643-652.
  4. Wallinga JW, Bos AJJ, Duller GAT. 2008. On the separation of quartz OSL signal components using different stimulation modes. Radiation Measurements, 43: 742-747. DOI
  5. Duller GAT. 2008. Single grain optical dating of Quaternary sediments: why aliquots size matters in luminescence dating. Boreas, 37: 589-612. DOI
  6. Tsukamoto S, Duller GAT, Wintle AG. 2008. Characteristics of thermally transferred optically stimulated luminescence (TT-OSL) in quartz and its potential for dating sediments. Radiation Measurements, 43: 1204-1218. DOI
  7. Tsukamoto S, Duller GAT. 2008. Anomalous fading of various luminescence signals from terrestrial basaltic samples as Martian analogues. Radiation Measurements, 43: 721-725. DOI
  8. Botha GA, Armitage SJ, Duller GAT. 2008. Geological evolution and palaeoenvironments of the Bazaruto island archipelago. A natural history of the Bazaruto archipelago, Mozambique, 8: 12-24.

2007

  1. Duller GAT. 2007. Assessing the error on equivalent dose estimates derived from single aliquot regenerative dose measurements. Ancient, TL 25: 15-24.
  2. Jain M, Duller GAT, Wintle AG. 2007. Dose response, thermal stability and optical bleaching of the 310 C isothermal TL signal in quartz. Radiation Measurements, 42: 1285-1293. DOI
  3. Bristow CS, Duller GAT, Lancaster N. 2007. Age and dynamics of linear dunes in the Namib Desert. Geology, 35: 555-558.
  4. Tooth S, Rodnight H, Duller GAT, McCarthy TS, Marren PM, Brandt D. 2007. Chronology and controls of avulsion along a mixed bedrock-alluvial river. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 119: 452-461. DOI
  5. McLaren S, Reynolds T, Gilbertson DD, Grattan JP, Hunt C, Barker G, Duller GAT. 2007. Pleistocene environments and human settlement. Archaeology and desertification: The Wadi Faynan landscape survey, Southern Jordan, : 177-198.
  6. El-Rishi H, Hunt C, Gilbertson DD, GRattan JP, McLaren S, Pyatt B, Duller GAT, Gilmore G, Phillips P. 2007. The past and present landscapes of the Wadi Faynan: geoarchaeological approaches and frameworks. Archaeology and Desertifiation: The Wadi Faynan landscape survey, Southern Jordan, : 59-97.
  7. S M, Reynolds T, Gilbertson D, Grattan J, C H, H e, Barker G, Duller G. 2007. Pleistocene environments and human settlement. Archaeology and desertification. The Wadi Faynan Landscape Survey, : 177-198.
  8. el-Rishi H, C H, Gilbertson D, Grattan J, McLaren S, Pyatt B, Duller GAT, Gillmore G, Phillips P. 2007. The past and present landscapes of the Wadi Faynan: geoarchaeological approaches and frameworks. The Wadi Faynan Landscape Survey, : 59-97.

2006

  1. Duller GAT. 2006. Comment on "human footprints in central Mexico older than 40,000 years" by S. Gonzalez, D. Huddart, M.R. Bennett and A. Gonzilez-Huesea. Quaternary Science Reviews, 25: 3074-3076.
  2. Duller GAT. 2006. Single grain optical dating of glacigenic deposits. Quaternary Geochronology, 1: 296-304.
  3. Jacobs Z, Duller GAT, Wintle AG. 2006. Interpretation of single grain D-e distributions and calculation of D-e. Radiation Measurements, 41: 264-277. DOI
  4. Rodnight H, Duller GAT, Wintle AG, Tooth S. 2006. Assessing the reproducibility and accuracy of optical dating of fluvial deposits. Quaternary Geochronology, 1: 109-120. DOI
  5. Glasser NF, Harrison S, Ivy-Ochs S, Duller GAT, Kubik PW. 2006. Evidence from the Rio Bayo valley on the extent of the North Patagonian Icefield during the Late Pleistocene-Holocene transition. Quaternary Research, 65: 70-77.
  6. Choi JH, Duller GAT, Wintle AG, Cheong CS. 2006. Luminescence characteristics of quartz from the Southern Kenyan Rift Valley: Dose estimation using LM-OSL SAR. Radiation Measurements, 41: 847-854. DOI
  7. Choi JH, Duller GAT, Wintle AG. 2006. Analysis of quartz LM-OSL curves. Ancient TL, 24: 9-20.
  8. Armitage SJ, Botha GA, Duller GAT, Wintle AG, Rebelo LP, Momade FJ. 2006. The formation and evolution of the barrier islands of Inhaca and Bazaruto, Mozambique. Geomorphology, 82: 295-308. DOI
  9. Jacobs Z, Wintle AG, Duller GAT. 2006. Evaluation of SAR procedures for De determination using single aliquots of quartz from two archaeological sites in South Africa. Radiation Measurements, 41: 520-533. DOI
  10. Jacobs Z, Duller GAT, Wintle AG, Henshilwood CS. 2006. Extending the chronology of deposits at Blombos Cave, South Africa, back to 140 ka using optical dating of single and multiple grains of quartz. Journal of Human Evolution, 51: 255-273. DOI
  11. Duller GAT, Augustinus PC. 2006. Reassessment of the record of linear dune activity in Tasmania using optical dating. Quaternary Science Reviews, 25: 2608-2618.
  12. Burbidge C I, Duller GAT, Roberts HM. 2006. D-e determination for young samples using the standardised OSL response of coarse-grain quartz. Radiation Measurements, 41: 278-288. DOI
  13. Giosan L, Donnelly JP, Constantinescu S, Filip F, Ovejanu I, Vespremeanu-Stroe A, Vespremeanu E, Duller GAT. 2006. Young Danube delta documents stable Black Sea level since the middle Holocene: Morphodynamic, paleogeographic, and archaeological implications. Geology, 34: 757-760.

2005

  1. Bristow CS, Lancaster N, Duller GAT. 2005. Combining ground penetrating radar surveys and optical dating to determine dune migration in Namibia. Journal of the Geological Society, 162: 315-321.
  2. Rodnight H, Duller GAT, Tooth S, Wintle AG. 2005. Optical dating of a scroll-bar sequence on the Klip River, South Africa, to derive the lateral migration rate of a meander bend. The Holocene, 15: 802-811. DOI
  3. Bokhorst MP, Duller GAT, Van Mourik JM. 2005. Optical dating of a Fimic anthrosol in the southern Netherlands. Journal of Archaeological Science, 32: 547-553.
  4. Ballarini MB, Wallinga J, Duller GAT, Brouwer JC, Bos AJJ, Van Eijk CWE. 2005. Optimizing detection filters for single-grain optical dating of quartz. Radiation Measurements, 40: 5-12. DOI

Reports

2008

  1. Duller GAT. 2008. Luminescence Dating: guidelines on using luminescence dating in archaeology. English Heritage, : 45.
    Luminescence Dating - Guidelines on using luminescence dating in archaeology (PDF)

2007

  1. Duller GAT, Roberts HM. 2007. Swale/Ure Washlands: Single grain optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) measurements of fluvial and fluvioglacial sediments. English Heritage Research Department Report Series 31/2007, : 16.