云南呈贡龙潭山 1 号洞堆积物的铀系年龄

测定了人类化石地点云南呈贡龙潭山1号洞5个次生碳酸盐样的质谱法铀系年代。其中位于含人牙化石的II 堆积层下界面不远处的L TSY- 3石笋样质谱230 Th /234U 年龄为( 305± 15) ka; 而其余4 个样品经现场地层复核,它们与堆积均缺乏明确的叠压关系,因此认为它们很可能源自洞顶或洞壁石幔。此外,还测定了该地点5个动物化石样的230 Th /234 U 年龄,其结果为60～ 80 ka,平行测定了其中3 个样品的227 Th /230 Th 年龄,二种铀系年龄均在± 1. 5σ范围内一致,从而支持了该地点骨化石样铀系年代的可信度。在没有进一步的地层和年代证据之前,暂将60～ 80 ka 作为含人牙化石的第I I层堆积的年代应是合理的。但值得指出的是,由于骨化石中铀循环模式的不确定性,与有明确层位意义的钙板相比,洞穴地点的这类材料年代结果往往偏于年轻,因此上述年代测定结果很可能也存在偏低问题。      

泥河湾盆地虎头梁叠层石的时代研究

阳原县虎头梁的泥河湾层夹有两层第四纪的叠层石,即上、下叠层石。文章分析了从3个地点采集的叠 层石样品,分别用热电离质谱铀系法和α能谱铀系法测量了它们的年龄。同一样品致密部分和非致密部分的年龄 及铀含量明显不一致,同时致密部分的铀系年龄出现倒序,此结果表明虎头梁的叠层石不适合用铀系法测年。根 据沉积物光谱光度测量,文章发现亮度值随剖面深度的变化曲线与北太平洋的风尘通量曲线形态相似,通过对比, 可以尝试将后者的时间标尺转移到前者上来,从而可建立虎头梁的泥河湾层的亮度时间标尺。它指示阳原县虎头 梁杏沟剖面上、下叠层石的年龄分别为73kaB.P.和274kaB.P.,分别是间冰期晚期和冰期的产物,前人所报道的孢 粉组合所代表的古气候环境支持这个年龄。     

长白山天池火山晚更新世以来的喷发活动：

应用高精度铀系不平衡TIMS法测定了吉林长白山天池火山岩锥体中上部的11个熔岩、浮岩样品的年龄，并据此划分出晚更新世、全新世以来6个喷发活动期次，分别为：＞350ka、70ka、18－25ka、10ka、4－5ka和1－0．75ka。此外，还介绍了铀系不平衡法火山岩年代学的基本原理和试验流程，讨论了样品封闭等问题。     

热电离质谱铀系法测定碳酸盐标样

用高精度热电离质谱（ＴＩＭＳ）铀系法测定碳酸盐标样的年龄,测定结果与α谱仪铀系法进行比较,铀含量和年龄值均吻合。方法对Ｕ的回收率可达９５％,Ｔｈ为９２％。ＴＩＭＳ铀系法具有样品用量少、测试时间短、精度高的优点。     

高精度热电离质谱（TIMS）铀系法测定洞穴沉积物的年龄

应用高精度质谱技术通过测定铀系标样和洞穴钙质结层的年龄，初步建立了TIMS铀系测年方法。3个样品的测定结果复现性很好，U含量、同位素比值及年龄值均与标准值吻合，数据的精度提高数倍，显示了TIMS铀系法的优点。     

埃及东沙漠中部两个次生铀矿化的铀系年龄和成因

在埃及东沙漠中部两处发现次生铀矿物于板状破碎岩石表面，其深部有原生铀矿化。在Ｅｌ Ａｔｓｈａｎ地区，主岩为厚２８ｍ被淡歪细晶岩床切穿的粉砂岩；在Ｅｌ Ｅｒｅｄｉｙａ地区，主岩被厚２０ｍ的花岗岩似碧玉岩脉切割。深部的原生矿化属前第三纪，而测得两个矿床中次生铀矿化的铀系年龄为０．０８￣０．１４Ｍａ，此期铀的活化可归因于在湿氧同位素气候第五期发生的地下水饱和作用。在两个矿床中，次生矿石之下的主岩中吸附的     

钙华测年中不同方法的对比研究

通过^14C法、α-铀系法和等离子体质谱（ICPMS）-铀系法对四川黄龙张家沟钙华进行定年对比，以期达到寻找到钙华测年最佳方法的目的。结果表明：ICPMS测年法由于样品需要量极低，比较容易获取高纯度的碳酸盐样品，不但使年龄数据更接近钙华沉积的真实年代，而且还具有样品可反复测量、易于操作等优点，从而使该法成为钙华测年的最佳方法。     

腾冲、长白山年轻火山岩铀系不平衡热电离质谱法年代学研究

在国内首次建立了铀系不平衡热电离质谱法年轻火山岩年龄测定的试验流程,并研究了云南腾冲、吉林长白山天池火山岩的年龄。划分出腾冲晚更新世以来的5个喷发期次：220 ka、80 ka、20 ka、12.8~13 ka、0.75~0.79 ka和长白山天池全新世以来的3次喷发：5.3 ka、1.0 ka、0.75 ka。这些年龄值和其他的方法所得的结果基本一致,表明本方法的可靠性。此外,还介绍了铀系不平衡法火山岩年代学的基本原理,讨论了样品的封闭性、火山岩中钍同位素初始组成均一性等问题。     

西藏纳木错湖相沉积的铀系年代学研究

纳木错是西藏海拔最高的大湖 ,位于藏北内流区东南部。研究中应用铀系全溶样品的等时线技术所测定的纳木错西北岸 3个剖面的 8个富含碳酸盐湖相沉积物样品的年龄。其实验程序是 :先按矿物的粒径将样品分成若干子样品 ,全溶子样品并分别测试它们的2 3 0 Th/ 2 3 2 Th和2 3 4 U/ 2 3 2 Th比值 ,然后通过年龄等时线来校正由碎屑物带来的初始钍的影响 ,从而避免了常用的稀酸淋滤法难于验证的同位素分馏问题。测试结果显示 ,在等时线上所有数据都有良好的线性关系 ,表明所获得的年龄数据是合理的。由     

高精度热电离质谱(TIMS)铀系法洞穴沉积物(石笋)年龄的研究

用高精度热电离质谱技术测定石笋的年龄,初步建立了热电离质谱铀系年龄的方法。 4个样品的测定结果复现性较好,铀含量、同位素比值及年龄值与标准值吻合,数据的精度大大提高,显示了质谱铀系年龄方法具有样品量少、时间短、精度高的优点。     

U—Series Dating of Fossil Bones：Results from Chinese Sites and Discussions on Its Reliability

Calculations,according to some open-system models,point out that while a statistically significant discrepancy between the results of two U-series methods,^230Th/^234U and ^227Th/^220Th(or ^231Pa/^235U),attests a relatively recent and important uranium migration,concordant dates cannot guarantee closes-system behavior of sample.The results of 20 fossil bones from 10 Chinese sites,19 of which are determined by two U-series methods,are given,Judging from independent age controls,8 out of the 11 concordant age sets are unacceptable,The results in this paper suggest that uranium may cycle into or out of fossil bones,such geochemical events may take place at any time and no known preserving condition may securely protect them from being affected.So for the sitew we have studied,the U-series dating of fossil bones is of limited reliability.     

Pleistocene climatic change in Southern Australia and its effect on speleothem deposition in some Nullarbor caves

Activity ratios of ²³⁴U/²³⁸U, ²³⁰Th/²³⁴U, and ²³⁰Th/²³²Th have been determined for calcite, gypsum and halite speleothems from caves of the Nullarbor Plain, mostly in the area N and NW of Mundrabilla Station, for the purpose of U-series dating. All calcite speleothems contain adequate amounts of uranium for dating, but some show an excess of ²³⁰Th. Stratigraphic relationships indicate that there were at least three phases of calcium carbonate deposition in the Nullarbor caves. The calcite samples, with one possible exception, have ages in excess of ca. 400000 yrs BP. This suggests that no significant amounts of calcium carbonate deposition have taken place during the last 400ka. At present, active deposition of speleothems is restricted almost entirely to gypsum and halite. The only gypsum speleothem dated was found to have a finite age of ca. 185 ka. Six dates on a small halite speleothem containing insect and arachnid remains indicate that it formed rapidly during Holocene time.     

In situ U-series dating by laser-ablation multi-collector ICPMS: new prospects for Quaternary geochronology

The capabilities and potential applications of in situ dating of Quaternary materials using laser ablation-MC-ICPMS are explored. ²³⁴U/²³⁸U and ²³⁰Th/²³⁴U can be measured with precision sufficient for dating at a spatial resolution of 100 μm or better in samples that contain as a little as 1 ppm uranium. Moreover, U and Th concentrations and U-series isotope ratios can be continuously profiled to determine changes in age that occur with sample growth (e.g. in speleothems). These capabilities additionally permit the dating of bones, teeth and possibly molluscs, which are subject to post-mortem open-system behaviour of U-series isotopes, and can be employed to elucidate processes of U-series migration during weathering and diagenesis. A drawback of laser ablation-MC-ICPMS is that it cannot in general provide U-series age estimates with the high precision and accuracy of conventional TIMS or solution MC-ICPMS methods. However, sample preparation is straightforward, the amount of sample consumed negligible, and it can be used to rapidly characterise or screen and select samples from which more precise and accurate dates can be obtained using conventional methods. Given further instrumental developments and the establishment of suitable matrix-matched standards for carbonates and other materials, we foresee that laser ablation-MC-ICPMS will play an increasingly important role in Quaternary dating research.     

Dated Paleontological cave sites of Central Europe from Late Middle Pleistocene to early Upper Pleistocene (OIS 5 to OIS 8)

Caves are terrestrial depositories that preserve a large variety of organic and inorganic remains. These may contain important Quaternary climatic and ecological information. Most of the faunal remains, however, cannot be linked to any Interglacial or Glacial period exclusively. Reliable dating of such remains is therefore required. Experience has, however, shown that ESR dating of speleothems or ²³⁰Th/U dating of bones are of disputable value. Only TIMS-²³⁰Th/U dating of speleothems appears to yield reliable ages. Dating the bottom and top of speleothem layers permit assigning Pleistocene faunal remains to the OIS chronology if the deposition of the speleothems and the faunal remains are clearly correlated. Care must be taken to consider the depositional situation of each site before interpreting any age dates. In this paper we present an overview of all numerically dated paleontological cave sites in Central Europe between OIS 5 and OIS 8. A total of 25 strata were dated from 13 sites, most of them deposited during OIS 5; the rest belonging to OIS 6 and 7. Numerically dated paleontological sites older than OIS 8 are not known.     

U-series dating of Locality 15 at Zhoukoudian, China, and implications for hominid evolution

This paper reports U-series dates on speleothem samples from Locality 15 at Zhoukoudian, one of the richest Paleolithic sites in northern China. The age of the lower part of Layer 2 is securely bracketed between 155,000 and 284,000 yr. The underlying Layer 3 dates back at least 284,000 yr. Layer 4, further below, should be older still, possibly by a cycle on the SPECMAP time scale before 284,000 yr ago. These ages, much greater than the previous estimates of 110,000-140,000 yr from U-series and electron spin resonance dating of fossil teeth, suggest that Locality 15 was broadly contemporaneous with Locality 4 (New Cave) and with the uppermost strata of Locality 1 (Peking Man site). The physical evolution and cultural development evidenced by the timing of the Zhoukoudian localities are in line with the opinion of Chinese anthropologists for a regional transition from Homo erectus to archaic Homo sapiens.     

New data on speleothem deposition and palaeoclimate in Britain over the last forty thousand years

²³⁰Th/²³⁴U dates are presented for 26 speleothems from three areas in Britain: Assynt, N.W. Scotland; N.W. Yorkshire; Mendip Hills, Somerset. These dates suggest that speleothem growth was widespread but rare in the period from 40 to 26 Ka, absent from 26 to 15 Ka, and abundant from 15 Ka to the present. The absence of speleothems between 26 and 15 Ka is attributed to glaciation in Yorkshire and Assynt and, tentatively, to continuous permafrost development in the Mendip Hills. The occurrence of speleothems before 26 Ka places restrictions on the extent of any ice sheet which may have been present in Scotland, and indicates that N.W. Scotland was not subjected to continuous permafrost at that time.     

Timing and intensity of groundwater movement during Egyptian Sahara pluvial periods by U-series analysis of secondary U in ores and carbonates

Wet climatic episodes are known to have prevailed in the Egyptian Sahara several times during the late Quaternary, most recently during the Holocene 8000 yr ago. Earlier wet episodes have been recognized as having occurred during the past 300,000 yr and have been dated by U-series methods in speleothems and in lake travertines. We show here that the times of enhanced groundwater movement can also be determined by ²³⁰Th/²³⁴U dating of secondary U in ores of uranium, iron, and phosphate. We also present evidence that such acceleration of groundwater movements is indicated by relatively low ²³⁴U/²³⁸U activity ratios in the secondary uranium. Our new data show that pluvial periods in Egypt occurred during marine oxygen isotope stages 4, 5, 6, and 7 and therefore are consistent with the view that the wet episodes are the results of migration of the tropical monsoonal belt driven primarily by the 23,000-yr precession cycle of the Milankovich curve, modulated by the 100,000-yr eccentricity cycle.     

230Th/234U dating of Holocene tufas: possibilities and problems

High-resolution chronologies in continental carbonate deposits such as tufas are required for detailed palaeoclimatic and environmental studies. This work set out to establish if high-resolution U-series dating of detritus-rich Holocene tufas is routinely possible. The study centres on a paludal Holocene tufa from southern England that already has an existing Holocene chronology, based on ¹⁴C and supported by biostratigraphy, against which to compare U-series dates. The results show that significant detrital contamination combined with low initial U concentrations, and short time for ingrowth of radiogenic ²³⁰Th make high-resolution U-series dating of Holocene tufa very difficult. Moreover, a single (²³⁰Th/²³²Th)_initial value to correct for the presence of detrital ²³⁰Th is not appropriate at the study site, a finding that may apply to most Holocene tufas. Total sample dissolution of coeval samples demonstrates considerable variability in the isotopic composition of the detritus. The total sample dissolution data are too scattered to constrain chronologies at the required resolution and may indicate the incorporation of a ²³⁰Th-rich component in the detritus.     

The timing of sea-level high-stands during Marine Isotope Stages 7.5 and 9: Constraints from the uranium-series dating of fossil corals from Henderson Island

Direct dating of fossil coral reefs using the U-series chronometer provides an important independent test of the Milankovitch orbital forcing theory of climate change. However, well-dated fossil corals pre-dating the last interglacial period (>130 thousand years ago; ka) are scarce due to, (1) a lack of sampling localities, (2) insufficient analytical precision in U-series dating methods, and (3) diagenesis which acts to violate the assumption of closed-system U-series isotopic decay in fossil corals. Here we present 50 new high-precision U-series age determinations for fossil corals from Henderson Island, an emergent coral atoll in the central South Pacific. U-series age determinations associated with the Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 9 interglacial and MIS 7.5 interstadial periods are reported. The fossil corals show relatively little open-system U-series behaviour in comparison to other localities with fossil coral reefs formed prior to the last glacial cycle, however, open-system U-series behaviour is still evident in most of the dated corals. In particular, percent-level shifts in the [²³⁰Th/²³⁸U]_act composition are observed, leading to conventional U-series ages that are significantly younger or older than the true sample age. This open-system U-series behaviour is not accounted for by any of the open-system U-series models, indicating that new models should be derived. The new U-series ages reported here support and extend earlier findings reported in Stirling et al. (2001), providing evidence of prolific coral reef development on Henderson Island at ∼320 ka, most likely correlated with MIS 9.3, and subsequent reef development at ∼307 ka during MIS 9.1, while relative sea-level was potentially ∼20 m lower than during MIS 9.3. The U-series ages for additional well-preserved fossil corals are suggestive of minor reef development on Henderson Island during MIS 7.5 (245-230 ka) at 240.3 ± 0.8 and 234.7 ± 1.3 ka. All U-series observations are consistent with the Milankovitch theory of climate change, in terms of the timing of onset and termination of the dated interglacial and interstadial periods. The best preserved samples also suggest that the oceanic ²³⁴U/²³⁸U during MIS 9 and MIS 7.5 was within five permil of the modern open ocean composition.