Geochronology Dating And Precambrian Time

Though it encompasses the majority of the Earth’s history, much about Precambrian time still remains unknown to us. With its climate extremes and unstable surfaces, Precambrian Earth hardly resembled the planet we see today. Yet for all its differences, it made the existence of future generations possible. This volume helps unlock the mysteries of prehistory by considering available geologic evidence while providing a deep dive into the finesses of geochronology.

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 volume is made up of papers presented at a colloquium of the Geology Devision of Section III of the Royal Society of Canada at the annual meeting in Quebec, June 1963. The papers fall into two groups: in one group the validity and shortcomings of the methods of establishing the geographical time-table are discussed; and, in the other, applications of the methods to areas across Canada, and from Precambrian to recent, are described. The geological time-table has been built up from the record of the rocks and is based on the law of superposition, a fact that is pointed out in the first paper of this volume. The chronological value of fossils, palaeomagnetism as a means of dating geological events, the limitations of radiometric dating, and other pertinent matters are here dealth with by a group of well-known authorities. These scientific disquisitions will be of great importance to geologists everywhere. This work should be of special interest to those engaged in research on the history of the earth, particularly in relation to the nature, the causes, and the time of an event. It will also serve as a valuable reference to practising geologists in government or industry, to university departments of geology, and to geological consultants. Royal Society of Canada, "Special Publications" Series, no. 8.