Nanoscale Isotopic Dating of Monazite

© 2020 The Authors. Geostandards and Geoanalytical Research © 2020 International Association of Geoanalysts Monazite U-Th-Pb geochronology is widely used for dating geological processes, but current analytical techniques are limited to grains greater than 5 μm in diameter. This limitation prec...

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Main Authors: Fougerouse, Denis, Kirkland, Chris, Saxey, David, Seydoux-Guillaume, A.M., Rowles, Matthew, Rickard, William, Reddy, Steven
Format: Journal Article
Published: 2020
Online Access:http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DE190101307
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/80393
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author Fougerouse, Denis
Kirkland, Chris
Saxey, David
Seydoux-Guillaume, A.M.
Rowles, Matthew
Rickard, William
Reddy, Steven
author_facet Fougerouse, Denis
Kirkland, Chris
Saxey, David
Seydoux-Guillaume, A.M.
Rowles, Matthew
Rickard, William
Reddy, Steven
author_sort Fougerouse, Denis
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description © 2020 The Authors. Geostandards and Geoanalytical Research © 2020 International Association of Geoanalysts Monazite U-Th-Pb geochronology is widely used for dating geological processes, but current analytical techniques are limited to grains greater than 5 μm in diameter. This limitation precludes the analysis of both micrometre-scale discrete monazite grains and fine textures within monazite crystals that are commonly found in geological specimens. Here, we analyse reference materials by atom probe tomography and develop a protocol for 208Pb/232Th dating of nanoscale domains of monazite (0.0007 μm3 analytical volume). The results indicate that the 208Pb2+/232ThO2+ ratios are higher than the true values. Such fractionation can be corrected using a linear regression between 208Pb2+/232ThO2+ and the M/ΔM10 peak shape parameter, where M is the position of the (Formula presented.) peak and ΔM10 the full-width-at-tenth-maximum for the same peak. This correction results in 15–20% analytical uncertainty on the corrected 208Pb/232Th age. Nonetheless, this approach opens the possibility of obtaining 208Pb/232Th ages with sufficient precision to address geological questions on an unprecedented small scale. To illustrate the approach, atom probe geochronology of a small monazite grain from the contact aureole of the Fanad pluton (Ireland) yielded a 208Pb/232Th atom probe age of 420 ± 60 Ma (2s) and is consistent with the known metamorphism in the region.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-803932021-05-28T02:44:55Z Nanoscale Isotopic Dating of Monazite Fougerouse, Denis Kirkland, Chris Saxey, David Seydoux-Guillaume, A.M. Rowles, Matthew Rickard, William Reddy, Steven © 2020 The Authors. Geostandards and Geoanalytical Research © 2020 International Association of Geoanalysts Monazite U-Th-Pb geochronology is widely used for dating geological processes, but current analytical techniques are limited to grains greater than 5 μm in diameter. This limitation precludes the analysis of both micrometre-scale discrete monazite grains and fine textures within monazite crystals that are commonly found in geological specimens. Here, we analyse reference materials by atom probe tomography and develop a protocol for 208Pb/232Th dating of nanoscale domains of monazite (0.0007 μm3 analytical volume). The results indicate that the 208Pb2+/232ThO2+ ratios are higher than the true values. Such fractionation can be corrected using a linear regression between 208Pb2+/232ThO2+ and the M/ΔM10 peak shape parameter, where M is the position of the (Formula presented.) peak and ΔM10 the full-width-at-tenth-maximum for the same peak. This correction results in 15–20% analytical uncertainty on the corrected 208Pb/232Th age. Nonetheless, this approach opens the possibility of obtaining 208Pb/232Th ages with sufficient precision to address geological questions on an unprecedented small scale. To illustrate the approach, atom probe geochronology of a small monazite grain from the contact aureole of the Fanad pluton (Ireland) yielded a 208Pb/232Th atom probe age of 420 ± 60 Ma (2s) and is consistent with the known metamorphism in the region. 2020 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/80393 10.1111/ggr.12340 http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DE190101307 fulltext
spellingShingle Fougerouse, Denis
Kirkland, Chris
Saxey, David
Seydoux-Guillaume, A.M.
Rowles, Matthew
Rickard, William
Reddy, Steven
Nanoscale Isotopic Dating of Monazite
title Nanoscale Isotopic Dating of Monazite
title_full Nanoscale Isotopic Dating of Monazite
title_fullStr Nanoscale Isotopic Dating of Monazite
title_full_unstemmed Nanoscale Isotopic Dating of Monazite
title_short Nanoscale Isotopic Dating of Monazite
title_sort nanoscale isotopic dating of monazite
url http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DE190101307
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/80393