Evaluation of KAr isochron methods

The KAr isochron method is an attempt to obtain the initial age or reset age and the extraneous argon isotopic ratio of a suite of cogenetic samples of different K-contents. Some samples contain excess argon-40 and others lose argon-40. The resultant ages on single samples are not significant geologically. We have discussed the principles of three types of isochrons commonly used, the ⁴⁰Ar vs ⁴⁰K isochron, the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar vs ⁴⁰K/³⁰Ar isochron, and the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar vs ³⁹Ar/³⁶Ar isochron, and evaluated the first two types for ten different hypothetical cases. If a straight line is obtained in the ⁴⁰Ar vs ⁴⁰K isochron, a positive intercept indicates an approximately constant amount of excess argon, whereas a negative intercept indicates argon loss. A curved line or scattering of points indicates that the basic assumptions are not valid for the set of samples under consideration. The ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar vs ⁴⁰K/³⁶Ar isochron method is valid, rigorously, only when all samples of the system under consideration have the same non-radiogenic argon isotope composition. This requires that either no excess argon is present in the system, or else each analysis contains the same proportion of excess and atmospheric argon. If these conditions do not hold, approximately, invalid ages and invalid intercepts are obtained. Any KAr isochron needs to be used with caution.     

Results of 40Ar/39Ar Dating of Ores of the Ermakovo F–Be Deposit,West Transbaikalia,Russia

Doklady Earth Sciences - The Ermakovo F–Be deposit, the largest Be deposit in Russia and one of the world’s largest deposits, is located in West Transbaikalia. The ores of the deposit...     

^40Ar／^39Ar Plateau Age Spectra of Feldspars and Their Geological Implications

The paragenic minerals plagioclase,perthite,biotite,hornblende and pyroxene in acid-granite alkali-granite,monzonite and volcanic rocks collected from seven areas different in thermal history have been determined.On the basis of 14 plateau age spectra and isochron ages of paragenic miner-als in conjunction with the observed mineral textures ,the suitability of plateau age spectra of plagioclase and perthite and their thermo-chronological significance are discussed in this paper.The results indicate that undisturbed feldspar gives satisfactory^40Ar-^39Ar plateau ages in consis-tence with those of paragenic minerals.This means that feldspars from the undisturbed area are suita-ble for ^40Ar-^39Ar dating .On the other hand,the age spectra of feldspars as well as of biotite,pyroxene and hornblende affected by tectonic or thermodynamic events appear unsmooth at varying temperatures,thus complicating their interpretation.Feldspars may give an emplacement age of a rock and /or that of the latest thermodynamic event,depending on the intensity of the event and the retentivity of Ar in the mineral.     

Growth Rate Estimates of Supergene Manganese Nodule by^40Ar／^39Ar Isotopic Dating

INTRODUCTIONModern4 0 Ar/ 39Arlaserstep heatinganalysishasbeensuccessfullyappliedtodateverysmallmineralgrainsfromdiversegeologicalenvironments .Thefineresolutionofthismethodhasgreatlyhelpovercomeproblemsintrinsicintradi tionalK Armethod ,inducedbyexcessargon ,argonlossbythermalresetting ,39Arrecoilduringirradiation ,andinter growthsand/orcontaminationofdifferentgenerationminer als ,withintheanalyzedmineral (Smithetal.,1998;Vas concelosetal.,1994 ) .Supergenemanganeseoredepositsareeconom…     

A Reappraisal of the 40Ar/38Ar Dating Technique via Irradiation with γ-Rays

In a reconnaissance study, we investigated the potential of γ-ray induced production of ³⁸Ar_K from ³⁹K for geochronological applications. For this purpose, various age monitors commonly in use for the established ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar-method were co-irradiated for 60 h at 17.6 MeV maximum energy in the ELBE facility, Dresden-Rossendorf, Germany. Because the available energy was low, total production of ³⁸Ar_K was depressed, leading to low J₃₈-values of (2.1–4.1) × 10^-6 and hence resulted in only minor ³⁸Ar excess when compared with atmospheric ³⁸Ar_/³⁶Ar ratios. In spite of these restrictions, ages of younger monitors could be reproduced within error, whereas older age reference materials showed discrepancies due to the low production rate. We observed Ca-derived contributions on ³⁶Ar in analysed CaF₂ reference materials, and calculated a limit for Ca-interference on ³⁸Ar_Ca of (³⁸Ar/³⁶Ar)_Ca = 0.07 ± 0.03 (1s). In addition, we investigated a potential recoil redistribution of ³⁸Ar by stepwise heating experiments, but could not quantify this further because of concurring processes. More work at higher photon energies is necessary to resolve other open issues, in particular the potential of utilising ⁴⁰Ar/³⁷Ar ratios for age determination and the possibility of ⁴²Ar production from ⁴⁴Ca, which would allow correction for Ca-interference reactions on other Ar isotopes. This would be a pre-requisite for dating extra-terrestrial rocks.     

Erratum to: Results of 40Ar/39Ar Dating of Ores of the Ermakovo F–Be Deposit,West Transbaikalia,Russia

Doklady Earth Sciences - An Erratum to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1028334X22340013     

39Ar−40Ar dating of multiply zoned amphibole generations (Malenco, Italian Alps)

Mafic rocks of a Permian crust to mantle section in Val Malenco (Italy) display a multi-stage evolution: pre-Alpine exhumation to the ocean floor, followed by burial and re-exhumation during Alpine convergence. Four prominent generations of amphiboles were formed during these stages. On the basis of microstructural investigations combined with electron microprobe analyses two amphibole generations can be assigned to the pre-Alpine decompression and two to the Alpine metamorphic P–T evolution. The different amphiboles have distinct Na^M4, Ca, K and Cl contents according to different P–T conditions and fluid chemistry. Analysing these mixed amphiboles by the ³⁹Ar−⁴⁰Ar stepwise heating technique yielded very complex age spectra. However, by correlating amphibole compositions directly obtained from the electron microprobe with the components deduced from the release of Ar isotopes during stepwise heating, obtained ages were consistent with the geological history deduced from field and petrological studies. The two generations of pre-Alpine amphiboles gave distinguishable Triassic to Late Jurassic/Early Cretaceous ages (≈225 and 130–140 Ma respectively). High-Na^M4 amphiboles have higher isotopic ages than low-Na^M4 ones, in agreement with their decompressional evolution. The exhumation of the Permian crust to mantle section is represented by the former age. The latter age concerns Cl-dominated amphibole related to an Early Cretaceous oceanic stage. For the early Alpine, pressure-dominated metamorphism we obtained a Late Cretaceous age (83–91 Ma). The later, temperature-dominated overprint is significantly younger, as indicated by ³⁹Ar−⁴⁰Ar ages of 67–73 Ma. These Late Cretaceous ages favour an Adriatic origin for the Malenco unit. Our data show that ³⁹Ar−⁴⁰Ar dating combined with detailed microprobe analysis can exploit the potential to relate conditions of amphibole formation to their respective ages. Received: 1 March 1999 / Accepted: 18 August 2000     

K–Ar and Ar–Ar dating of the Palaeozoic metamorphic complex from the Mid-Bosnian Schist Mts., Central Dinarides, Bosnia and Hercegovina

Summary K–Ar and Ar–Ar whole rock and mineral ages are presented for 25 samples of metamorphic rocks from the Mid-Bosnian Schist Mts., representing one of the largest allochthonous Palaeozoic terranes incorporated within the Internal Dinarides. Four main age groups can be distinguished: 1) Variscan (343Ma), 2) post-Variscan (288–238Ma), 3) Early Cretaceous (mainly 121–92Ma), and 4) Eocene (59–35Ma) ages. Apart from this, an Oligocene (31Ma) age was obtained on Alpine vein hyalophane. The radiometric dating indicates a polyphase metamorphic evolution of the Palaeozoic formations and suggests a pre-Carboniferous age of the volcano-sedimentary protoliths, an Early Carboniferous age of Variscan metamorphism and deformation, post-Variscan volcanism, an Early Cretaceous metamorphic overprint related to out-of-sequence thrusting of the Palaeozoic complex, and an Eocene and Oligocene metamorphic overprint related to the main Alpine compressional deformation and subsequent strike-slip faulting, and uplift of the metamorphic core. Accordingly, the Mid-Bosnian Schist Mts. can be correlated in its multistage geodynamic evolution with some Palaeozoic tectonostratigraphic units from the Austroalpine domain in the Eastern Alps.Deceased     

40Ar/39Ar thermochronology using alkali feldspars: real thermal history or mathematical mirage of microtexture?

The Multiple Diffusion Domain (MDD) theory of Ar loss, based on the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar method, has been used to obtain thermal histories, over tens of millions of years, in the range 500 °C to near-surface temperatures, of alkali feldspars from slowly cooled geological environments and recovered in situ from sedimentary basins and geothermal systems. It assumes that Ar diffuses in Nature, over geological time, from the same domains, and by the same processes, that control its diffusion during laboratory step-heating experiments. Mathematically the model has many stringent requirements: the domains must form at T above those being modelled and must remain unchanged during geological time and during step heating, must not interact, must occur in discrete size ranges sharing one simple geometrical shape, contain no compositional gradients in ⁴⁰K, and release Ar into an infinite reservoir. We describe the nature of possible diffusion domains, and the fast pathways for diffusion between them, known to exist in alkali feldspars from direct electron microscopic observations, and explore their time–temperature evolution, based on established phase behaviour, both over geological time and during step heating. Strain-controlled microtextures, whose morphology is controlled by the minimization of coherency strain energy, do not provide fast pathways for Ar loss, and behave as crystallographically complex but single domains for Ar. Subregular dislocations may form over a range of T in some strain-controlled intergrowths, but in Nature the majority form closed loops and do not provide pathways to the crystal surface. Deuteric microtextures cut across strain-controlled microtextures, and are composed of microporous subgrain and grain mosaics with many pathways and a wide spectrum of possible domain sizes and shapes. The deuterically altered zones provide pathways for Ar diffusion out of the crystal, although some Ar is retained in fluid inclusions. All microtextures likely to define diffusion domains form below 500 °C, over a range of T and (in slowly cooled rocks) of times. The most important involve fluid–feldspar reactions, which can reset Ar, and continue to surface T. Feldspars in geothermal systems and young sedimentary basins are subject to ongoing chemical and microtextural changes. Because the microtextures are metastable during step-heating experiments in the T range over which most Ar is released, domains and pathways for rapid diffusion of Ar between domains will be significantly modified during step heating, particularly above 750 °C, when departures from a simple Arrhenius diffusion law are most marked. Pre-melting is likely to be an important cause of complexity in Ar loss behaviour. Few, if any, of the requirements of the MDD model are met, and we conclude that thermal histories cannot be obtained from alkali feldspars using this method. Received: 21 September 1998 / Accepted: 1 March 1999     

The 40Ar/39Ar and Rb–Sr chronology of the Precambrian Aksu blueschists in western China

Three metapelite samples from the Aksu blueschist terrane, Xinjiang, China, were dated by the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar method on separated phengite grains, obtaining plateau ages in the range of 741−757 Ma. In contrast, the measured Rb and Sr isotope data for the three samples yielded isochron ages ranging from 630 Ma to 900 Ma, suggesting large heterogeneity in the blueschist protolith and suppression of diffusional exchange owing to the low-temperature metamorphic conditions. Because the protolith of Aksu blueschist is composed of oceanic materials that formed ⁴⁰Ar-free phengite during HP and UHP metamorphism and the apparent ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar plateaus ages in this study are similar to previous K–Ar and Rb–Sr ages, the existence of excess argon in these rocks is considered to be insignificant. As a result, the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar plateau ages in this study (ca. 750 Ma) likely represent the approximate time for peak metamorphism, given the low peak metamorphic temperatures for the Aksu blueschist terrane (300−400 °C). This strongly implies that modern style, cold subduction tectonics operated along the margin of the Aksu terrane no later than 750 Ma, in Neoproterozoic time.     

~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar Dating of Deformation Events and Reconstruction of Exhumation of Ultrahigh-Pressure Metamorphic Rocks in Donghai, East China

Recent investigations reveal that the ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic (UHPM) rocks in the Donghai region of East China underwent ductile and transitional ductile-brittle structural events during their exhumation. The earlier ductile deformation took place under the condition of amphibolite facies and the later transitional ductile-brittle deformation under the condition of greenschist facies. The hanging walls moved southeastward during both of these two events. The 40Ar/39Ar dating of muscovites from muscovite-plagioclase schists in the Haizhou phosphorous mine, which are structurally overlain by UHPM rocks, yields a plateau age of 218.0±2.9 Ma and isochron age of 219.8Ma, indicating that the earlier event of the ampibolite-facies deformation probably took place about 220 Ma ago. The 40Ar/39Ar dating of oriented amphiboles parallel to the movement direction of the hanging wall on a decollement plane yields a plateau age of 213.1±0.3 Ma and isochron age of 213.4±4.1 Ma, probably representing the age o     

The Stages of Formation of the Main Batholite Belt,Northeast Russia: U–Th–Pb SIMS and Ar–Ar Geochronological Data

Doklady Earth Sciences - The original and published geochronological data and the geological position of different granitoid complexes of the Main (Kolyma) Batholith Belt of Northeast Asia have...     

海绿石 K-Ar、40Ar/39Ar 年代学研究

海绿石是与沉积岩同时形成的高钾层状硅酸盐自生矿物，其 K-Ar、40Ar/39Ar 年龄存在失真现象。笔者认为，引起年龄失真的主要原因是由于该矿物结构中含有可膨胀层。通过测量可膨胀层含量及中子活化过程中39Ar的丢失率，使可对海绿石常规 K-Ar、40Ar/39Ar 年龄进行校正，得到其年龄校正公式。     

40Ar/39Ar record of late Pan–African exhumation of a granulite facies terrain, central Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica

⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronological data on hornblende, biotite and K-feldspar provide constraints on the cooling path experienced by a high-grade metamorphic complex from the Mühlig–Hofmannfjella and Filchnerfjella (6–8°E), central Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, during the late Neoproterozoic-early Palaeozoic Pan–African orogeny. Hornblende ages yield c. 481 Ma, biotite ages range from c. 466 Ma to c. 435 Ma, whereas K-feldspar ages of the gneisses are c. 437 Ma. The ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar data suggest initial cooling at a rate of ~10 °C/Myr between 481 and 465 Ma, followed by a lower cooling rate of ~6 °C/Myr during the subsequent c. 30 million years. The K-feldspar ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages place a lower time limit on the duration of the exhumation, by the time of thermal relaxation to a stable continental geotherm. The ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar data reflecting cooling indicate tectonic exhumation related to orogenic collapse during a later phase of the Pan–African orogeny.     

Formation of the Japan Sea basin: Reassessment from Ar–Ar ages and Nd–Sr isotopic data of basement basalts of the Japan Sea and adjacent regions

Many studies have examined the Japan Sea basalts recovered during Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg127/128. Of these, the ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar dating undertaken is important in constraining the timing of the formation of the Japan Sea; however, the implications of their results do not appear to be fully appreciated by the geological community. In this paper, I reassess the ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar age data of the basalts with reference to Nd–Sr isotopic data. The ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar dating was performed on basalts somewhat enriched in large-ion lithophile elements and recovered from ODP Sites 794, 795 and the lower part of 797, yielding the plateau ages of 21.2–17.7 Ma. These basalts show the Nd–Sr isotopic signature of a moderately depleted mantle source (ε_Nd: 0.6–6.9). In contrast, the basalts from the upper part of Site 797 have yet to be dated due to their low K content, although their Nd isotopic compositions are similar to that of MORB (ε_Nd: 8.4–10.4). By analogy to the secular Nd–Sr isotopic trends reported for Sikhote-Alin and northeast Japan, the age of the upper basalts at Site 797 may be inferred to be younger than the lower basalts, probably around 16 Ma. The Nd–Sr isotopic compositions of the Japan Sea basalts have been interpreted in terms of eastward asthenospheric flow, as have the lavas of the Sikhote-Alin and northeastern Japan. The timing of volcanic activity in the Japan Sea region (i.e., from 21.2 to 14.86 Ma) is consistent with the timing of rotational crustal movements inferred from paleomagnetic studies of the Japanese Islands (i.e., 14.8–4.2 Ma for southwest Japan and 16.5–14.4 Ma for northeast Japan).     

Fluid inclusion geochemistry and Ar–Ar geochronology of the Cenozoic Bangbu orogenic gold deposit,southern Tibet,China

Located along the southern part of the Yarlung Zangbo suture zone in southern Tibet, Bangbu is one of the largest gold deposits in Tibet. Auriferous sulfide-bearing quartz veins are controlled by second- or third-order brittle fractures associated with the regional Qusong–Cuogu–Zhemulang brittle-ductile shear zone. Fluid inclusion studies show that the auriferous quartz contains aqueous inclusions, two-phase and three-phase CO₂-bearing inclusions, and pure gaseous hydrocarbon inclusions. The CO₂-bearing inclusions have salinities of 2.2–9.5% NaCl_eq, and homogenization temperatures (Th) of 167–336 °C. The δD, δ¹⁸O, and δ¹³C compositions of the Bangbu ore-forming fluids are − 105.5 to − 44.4‰, 4.7 to 9.0‰ and − 5.1 to − 2.2‰, respectively, indicating that the ore-forming fluid is mainly of metamorphic origin, with also a mantle-derived contribution. The ³He/⁴He ratio of the ore-forming fluids is 0.174 to 1.010 R_a, and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar ranges from 311.9 to 1724.9. Calculations indicate that the percentage of mantle-derived He in fluid inclusions from Bangbu is 2.7–16.7%. These geochemical features are similar to those of most orogenic gold deposits. Dating by ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar of hydrothermal sericite collected from auriferous quartz veins at Bangbu yielded a plateau age of 44.8 ± 1.0 Ma, with normal and inverse isochronal ages of 43.6 ± 3.2 Ma and 44 ± 3 Ma, respectively. This indicates that the gold mineralization was contemporaneous with the main collisional stage between India and Eurasia along the Yarlung Zangbo suture, which resulted in the development of near-vertical lithospheric shear zones. A deep metamorphic fluid was channeled upward along the shear zone, mixing with a mantle fluid. The mixed fluids migrated into the brittle structures along the shear zone and precipitated gold, sulfides, and quartz because of declining temperature and pressure or fluid immiscibility. The Bangbu is a large-scale Cenozoic syn-collisional orogenic gold deposit     

40Ar–39Ar dating of volcanic rocks of the Shyok suture zone in north–west trans-Himalaya: Implications for the post-collision evolution of the Shyok suture zone

⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar geochronological studies carried out on the Khardung volcanics of Ladakh, India and our earlier Ar–Ar results from the volcanics of the Shyok suture along with the available geological and geochemical data provide good constraints for post-collision evolution of the Shyok suture zone. Whole-rock samples from the Shyok volcanics yielded disturbed age-spectra and we have demonstrated earlier that the youngest tectonic event in the Shyok suture zone responsible for the thermal disturbance of these samples is Karakoram fault activation at ～14 Ma. Contrastingly whole-rock samples from the Khardung volcanics, which are in tectonic contact with these Shyok volcanics, and are exposed in the form of thick rhyolitic and ignimbritic flows, yielded undisturbed age-spectra and good plateau-ages. The whole-rock plateau-ages of two rhyolite samples are 52.8 ± 0.9 and 56.4 ± 0.4 Ma. We interpret these ages to be the time and duration of emplacement of these volcanics over thickened margin of the continental crust, which appears to be coeval with the initiation of the collision between the Indian and Asian plate. The lesser extent of post-emplacement isotopic re-equilibration in these samples unlike the Shyok volcanics indicate that these samples were present in different tectonic settings, away from the Karakoram fault, at the time of deformation in the Shyok suture zone. We propose that the two volcanic belts of contrasting nature were brought together in juxtaposition by the Karakoram strike slip faulting at ～14 Ma.