ESR dating of fault gouge from the eastern Liupanshan piedmont fault zone

Gouge is the carrier for information of the fault activity.In this study,fault gouges from the eastern Liupanshan piedmont fault zone were analyzed by ESR method.However,the measured ESR age is much older than that estimated in the field.On the other hand,SEM images of the quartz grains separated from the fault gouge showed a variety of morphologies,which indicate several periods of fault movements.The ESR age estimates failing to represent the latest fault movement suggest that the latest movement may not have zeroed ESR signals significantly for ESR dating and the quartz may be from different periods of the movements.Although there are still many uncertain factors in the ESR dating of fault gouge,it is essential to study systematically in this area.