Issue 7, 2015

An in situ technique for (U–Th–Sm)/He and U–Pb double dating

Abstract

We report on a new laser-based technique for rapid, quantitative and automated in situ double dating (U–Pb and (U–Th–Sm)/He) of minerals, for applications in geochronology, thermochronology and geochemistry. In situ laser microanalysis offers several advantages over conventional bulk crystal methods in terms of spatial resolution, productivity, and safety. This new approach/methodology utilizes an interoperable and integrated suite of analytical instruments including a 193 nm ArF excimer laser system, quadrupole ICP-MS, quadrupole helium mass spectrometry system and swappable flow-through and ultra-high vacuum analytical chambers. We describe the analytical protocols for zircon analysis including grain mounting in Teflon, parameters for parent and daughter isotopic measurement, and standard development, and provide a freeware application for determining (U–Th–Sm)/He ‘pairwise’ ages from analytical data. The in situ double dating method described is applied to the Ellendale lamproite pipe and country rocks, Western Australia and successfully replicates conventional U–Pb and (U–Th–Sm)/He age variations determined previously by conventional techniques.

Graphical abstract: An in situ technique for (U–Th–Sm)/He and U–Pb double dating

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
13 Mar 2015
Accepted
01 Jun 2015
First published
01 Jun 2015
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2015,30, 1636-1645

Author version available

An in situ technique for (U–Th–Sm)/He and U–Pb double dating

N. J. Evans, B. I. A. McInnes, B. McDonald, M. Danišík, T. Becker, P. Vermeesch, M. Shelley, E. Marillo-Sialer and D. B. Patterson, J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2015, 30, 1636 DOI: 10.1039/C5JA00085H

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications, without requesting further permission from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given and it is not used for commercial purposes.

To request permission to reproduce material from this article in a commercial publication, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party commercial publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements