Age Determinations And Geological Studies

Annual collection of reports from the Geochronology Section of the Lithosphere and Canadian Shield Division. Reports make full presentations of the data, relate these to field settings and make short interpretations. Coverage includes advances and/or reviews of analytical techniques, as well as descriptions of various projects in all provinces and territories of the country. The list of references provides a further record of all other data produced in the laboratory but published in outside journals or separate GSC publications.

This report includes a series of papers on radiogenic age and isotopic studies in the Arctic using uranium-lead and argon40-argon39 methods of age determination and neodymium-isotopic methods.

Dating the Quaternary, which covers approximately the last 2 million years, has experienced considerable progress over the past few decades. On the one hand, this resulted from the necessity to obtain a valid age concept for this period which had seen tremendous environmental changes and the advent of the genus Homo. On the other hand, instrumental improvements, such as the introduction of highly sensitive analytical techniques, gave rise to physical and chemical innovations in the field of dating. This rapid methodological development is still in full progress. The broad spectrum of chronometric methods applicable to young rocks and artifacts also becomes increasingly intricate to the specialist. Hence, it is my goal to present a comprehensive, state-of-the-art sum mary of these methods. This book is essentially designed as an aid for scientists who feel a demand for dating tasks falling into this period, i. e., Quaternary geologists and archaeologists in the broadest sense. Since it has been developed from a course of lectures for students of geological and archaeological sciences, held at the University of Heidelberg, it certainly shall serve as an introduction for students of these disciplines.