Geochronology And Thermochronology

This book is a welcome introduction and reference for users and innovators in geochronology. It provides modern perspectives on the current state-of-the art in most of the principal areas of geochronology and thermochronology, while recognizing that they are changing at a fast pace. It emphasizes fundamentals and systematics, historical perspective, analytical methods, data interpretation, and some applications chosen from the literature. This book complements existing coverage by expanding on those parts of isotope geochemistry that are concerned with dates and rates and insights into Earth and planetary science that come from temporal perspectives. Geochronology and Thermochronology offers chapters covering: Foundations of Radioisotopic Dating; Analytical Methods; Interpretational Approaches: Making Sense of Data; Diffusion and Thermochronologic Interpretations; Rb-Sr, Sm-Nd, Lu-Hf; Re-Os and Pt-Os; U-Th-Pb Geochronology and Thermochronology; The K-Ar and 40Ar/39Ar Systems; Radiation-damage Methods of Geo- and Thermochronology; The (U-Th)/He System; Uranium-series Geochronology; Cosmogenic Nuclides; and Extinct Radionuclide Chronology. Offers a foundation for understanding each of the methods and for illuminating directions that will be important in the near future Presents the fundamentals, perspectives, and opportunities in modern geochronology in a way that inspires further innovation, creative technique development, and applications Provides references to rapidly evolving topics that will enable readers to pursue future developments Geochronology and Thermochronology is designed for graduate and upper-level undergraduate students with a solid background in mathematics, geochemistry, and geology. Read an interview with the editors to find out more: https://eos.org/editors-vox/the-science-of-dates-and-rates

This book is a welcome introduction and reference for users and innovators in geochronology. It provides modern perspectives on the current state-of-the art in most of the principal areas of geochronology and thermochronology, while recognizing that they are changing at a fast pace. It emphasizes fundamentals and systematics, historical perspective, analytical methods, data interpretation, and some applications chosen from the literature. This book complements existing coverage by expanding on those parts of isotope geochemistry that are concerned with dates and rates and insights into Earth and planetary science that come from temporal perspectives. Geochronology and Thermochronology offers chapters covering: Foundations of Radioisotopic Dating; Analytical Methods; Interpretational Approaches: Making Sense of Data; Diffusion and Thermochronologic Interpretations; Rb-Sr, Sm-Nd, Lu-Hf; Re-Os and Pt-Os; U-Th-Pb Geochronology and Thermochronology; The K-Ar and 40Ar/39Ar Systems; Radiation-damage Methods of Geo- and Thermochronology; The (U-Th)/He System; Uranium-series Geochronology; Cosmogenic Nuclides; and Extinct Radionuclide Chronology. Offers a foundation for understanding each of the methods and for illuminating directions that will be important in the near future Presents the fundamentals, perspectives, and opportunities in modern geochronology in a way that inspires further innovation, creative technique development, and applications Provides references to rapidly evolving topics that will enable readers to pursue future developments Geochronology and Thermochronology is designed for graduate and upper-level undergraduate students with a solid background in mathematics, geochemistry, and geology. Read an interview with the editors to find out more: https://eos.org/editors-vox/the-science-of-dates-and-rates

Petrochronology is a rapidly emerging branch of Earth science that links time (ages or rates) with specific rock-forming processes and their physical conditions. It is founded in petrology and geochemistry, which define a petrogenetic context or delimit a specific process, to which chronometric data are then linked. This combination informs Earth’s petrogenetic processes better than petrology or geochronology alone. This volume and the accompanying short courses address three broad categories of inquiry. Conceptual approaches chapters include petrologic modeling of multi-component chemical and mineralogic systems, and development of methods that include diffusive alteration of mineral chemistry. Methods chapters address four main analytical techniques, specifically EPMA, LA-ICP-MS, SIMS and TIMS. Mineral-specific chapters explore applications to a wide range of minerals, including zircon (metamorphic, igneous, and detrital/Hadean), baddeleyite, REE minerals (monazite, allanite, xenotime and apatite), titanite, rutile, garnet, and major igneous minerals (olivine, plagioclase and pyroxenes). These applications mainly focus on metamorphic, igneous, or tectonic processes, but additionally elucidate fundamental transdisciplinary progress in addressing mechanisms of crystal growth, the chemical consequences of mineral growth kinetics, and how chemical transport and deformation affect chemically complex mineral composites. Most chapters further recommend areas of future research.

Argon isotopic dating is one of the most important techniques for estimating the ages of rocks and can be used on very small samples. It has been used to assign reliable ages to the Earth and numerous meteorites. This second edition covers the standard principles and methods and incorporates many of new developments from the last decade. It covers the basis of the method, technical aspects, data presentation, diffusion theory, thermochronology, and many applications and case studies.

The nature of thermochronologic and geochronologic questions are also frequently basically different. The formation age of minerals is normally irrelevant in thermochronology, whilst rates of processes are frequently of dominant interest. Geochronology has demonstrated key to our present-day understanding of the dynamic procedures that have shaped the Earth. The increase of high-precision geochronology worldwide in the last 15 years, in particular that generated by sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP), has transformed the geological community's view of the Proterozoic Eon, and the implicit assumptions that form the basis of most work conducted on rocks of that age. Geologic research and mapping requires the determinations of the ages and composition of rocks. Much of earth and planetary science relies on radioactive decay and growth of naturally occurring nuclides and their use as chronometers to understand the timing of events and rates of processes, and the use of radiogenic isotopes as tracers for understanding a wide range of phenomena. In one form or another, geochronologists have been practicing thermochronology, the use of radioisotopic dating to constrain thermal histories of rocks and minerals, for over 40 years. Building from lessons learned over these four decades, thermochronology continues to evolve due to technical developments, increasingly sophisticated theoretical models, and an expanding range of applications in geologic and planetary science. Most recently, interest in earth-surface processes and interactions between tectonics, erosion, and climate has drawn attention to techniques that can address the timing and rates of processes operating at temperatures below about 300°C. Geochronology and Thermochronology will explore the research studies to the fundamentals of geochronology and thermochronology, diffusion in minerals and heat in the Earth, trace element behavior, and differentiation and recycling processes in the Earth and other solar system objects in a way that inspires further innovation, creative technique development, and applications. This book will be of invaluable to graduate and upper-level undergraduate students practitioners as well as researchers in the field of geochemistry and geology.

Volume 58 of Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry presents 22 chapters covering many of the important modern aspects of thermochronology. The coverage of the chapters ranges widely, including historical perspective, analytical techniques, kinetics and calibrations, modeling approaches, and interpretational methods. In general, the chapters focus on intermediate- to low-temperature thermochronometry, though some chapters cover higher temperature methods such as monazite U/Pb closure profiles, and the same theory and approaches used in low-temperature thermochronometry are generally applicable to higher temperature systems. The widely used low- to medium-temperature thermochronometric systems are reviewed in detail in these chapters, but while there are numerous chapters reviewing various aspects of the apatite (U-Th)/He system, there is no chapter singularly devoted to it, partly because of several previous reviews recently published on this topic.

This book is focused on the basics of applying thermochronology to geological and tectonic problems, with the emphasis on fission-track thermochronology. It is conceived for relatively new practitioners to thermochronology, as well as scientists experienced in the various methods. The book is structured in two parts. Part I is devoted to the fundamentals of the fission-track method, to its integration with other geochronologic methods, and to the basic principles of statistics for fission-track dating and sedimentology applied to detrital thermochronology. Part I also includes the historical development of the technique and thoughts on future directions. Part II is devoted to the geological interpretation of the thermochronologic record. The thermal frame of reference and the different approaches for the interpretation of fission-track data within a geological framework of both basement and detrital studies are discussed in detail. Separate chapters demonstrate the application of fission-track thermochronology from various perspectives (e.g., tectonics, petrology, stratigraphy, hydrocarbon exploration, geomorphology), with other chapters on the application to basement rocks in orogens, passive continental margins and cratonic interiors, as well as various applications of detrital thermochronology.