thermoluminescence

thumb|Thermoluminescence of fluorite. thumb|Figure 1: Three stages of thermoluminescence as outlined by Aitken (1985, 1998) and applied to a quartz grain (Keizars, 2008b). thumb|Figure 2: The process of recharging and discharging thermoluminescent signal, as applied to beach sands. (modified from Aitken, 1998; Keizars, 2008). thumb|Figure 3: Thermoluminescence signature lost during migration of two sand grain sizes (Keizars, 2008). thumb|Figure 4: Illustrated method of passively monitoring sand input (Keizars, 2003).

Thermoluminescence is a form of luminescence that is exhibited by certain crystalline materials, such as some minerals, when previously absorbed energy from electromagnetic radiation or other ionizing radiation is re-emitted as light upon heating of the material. The phenomenon is distinct from that of black-body radiation.