U and Th zonation in Fish Canyon Tuff zircons: Implications for a zircon (U-Th)/He standard

The inability to accurately determine the distribution of U and Th in zircon crystals analysed using (U-Th)/He is a major source of error, and limits the confidence in subsequent data interpretation. The Fish Canyon Tuff (FCT) zircon standard shows (U-Th)/He age reproducibility in excess of ±10%. We have tested the extent to which this is due to U and Th zonation using a combination of cathodoluminescence and ion probe analysis of a population of FCT zircons. Primarily we find that FCT zircons exhibit extreme U and Th zonation, and the population has large inter-crystalline variability. Furthermore, the net cathodoluminescence intensity from the FCT zircons is negatively correlated with U and Th concentration, allowing cathodoluminescence emission to be used as a proxy for U and Th zonation. This correlation was exploited to constrain the U and Th zonation within the crystal population, and to show that the poor age reproducibility of the FCT zircons is consistent with the observed zonation.     

Zircon (U-Th)/He thermochronometry: He diffusion and comparisons with Ar/Ar dating

(U-Th)/He chronometry of zircon has a wide range of potential applications including thermochronometry, provided the temperature sensitivity (e.g., closure temperature) of the system be accurately constrained. We have examined the characteristics of He loss from zircon in a series of step-heating diffusion experiments, and compared zircon (U-Th)/He ages with other thermochronometric constraints from plutonic rocks. Diffusion experiments on zircons with varying ages and U-Th contents yield Arrhenius relationships which, after about 5% He release, indicate E_a = 163-173 kJ/mol (39-41 kcal/mol), and D₀ = 0.09-1.5 cm²/s, with an average E_a of 169 ± 3.8 kJ/mol (40.4 ± 0.9 kcal/mol) and average D₀ of 0.46^+0.87_−0.30 cm²/s. The experiments also suggest a correspondence between diffusion domain size and grain size. For effective grain radius of 60 μm and cooling rate of 10°C/myr, the diffusion data yield closure temperatures, T_c, of 171-196°C, with an average of 183°C. The early stages of step heating experiments show complications in the form of decreasing apparent diffusivity with successive heating steps, but these are essentially absent in later stages, after about 5-10% He release. These effects are independent of radiation dosage and are also unlikely to be due to intracrystalline He zonation. Regardless of the physical origin, this non-Arrhenius behavior is similar to predictions based on degassing of multiple diffusion domains, with only a small proportion (<2-4%) of gas residing in domains with a lower diffusivity than the bulk zircon crystal. Thus the features of zircon responsible for these non-Arrhenius trends in the early stages of diffusion experiments would have a negligible effect on the bulk thermal sensitivity and closure temperature of a zircon crystal.We have also measured single-grain zircon (U-Th)/He ages and obtained ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages for several minerals, including K-feldspar, for a suite of slowly cooled samples with other thermochronologic constraints. Zircon He ages from most samples have 1 σ reproducibilities of about 1-5%, and agree well with K-feldspar ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar multidomain cooling models for sample-specific closure temperatures (170-189°C). One sample has a relatively poor reproducibility of ∼24%, however, and a mean that falls to older ages than predicted by the K-feldspar model. Microimaging shows that trace element zonation of a variety of styles is most pronounced in this sample, which probably leads to poor reproducibility via inaccurate α-ejection corrections. We present preliminary results of a new method for characterizing U-Th zonation in dated grains by laser-ablation, which significantly improves zircon He age accuracy.In summary, the zircon (U-Th)/He thermochronometer has a closure temperature of 170-190°C for typical plutonic cooling rates and crystal sizes, it is not significantly affected by radiation damage except in relatively rare cases of high radiation dosage with long-term low-temperature histories, and most ages agree well with constraints provided by K-spar ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar cooling models. In some cases, intracrystalline U-Th zonation can result in inaccurate ages, but depth-profiling characterization of zonation in dated grains can significantly improve accuracy and precision of single-grain ages.     

Internal structures of zircons from Archaean granites from the Darling Range batholith: implications for zircon stability and the interpretation of zircon U-Pb ages

Internal structures in zircons from granitoids from the late Archaean Darling Range Batholith show secondary features revealed by HF etching, which record reconstitution of the zircons and modification of the distribution of trace elements during post crystallisation cooling of the granitoid. Zircons from the granites commonly contain unzoned to weakly zoned cores surrounded by rims showing oscillatory zoning which has been modified by recrystallisation. The most striking feature is the development of high trace element concentration areas found in zircons from a number of granites. These structures range from enhanced trace element concentrations in primary zones to a single accumulation of most trace elements in one band, about half way between the outer edge and the centre of the zircon. In any zircon the extent of the concentration of trace elements towards the formation of a single trace element band appears to be inversely related to the fading and broadening of primary oscillatory zones in the outer rim. This suggests that the trace element bands formed by migration of trace elements from the outer primary zones to new concentration sites on an inner set of primary zones. This explanation is supported by the formation of multiple curved trace element bands that transgress primary zoning and the determination of younger SHRIMP ages on depleted zircon outer rims compared to remnant primary oscillatory zoned areas of the zircon and unzoned centres. Also observed in some granite zircons is a finely convoluted zoning which overprints oscillatory zoning in parts of a zoned zircon and in rare cases occurs throughout the zircon. This structure is explained in terms of secondary migration and reconcentration of trace elements in curved bands. All structures can be transgressed by generally rounded lobes and patches of low U, weakly nebulously zoned zircon. This is interpreted as a late stage interaction between the zircon and fluids formed during cooling and crystallisation of the granitoid, resulting in recrystallisation of affected parts of the zircon with accompanying loss of trace elements from the zircon. Received: 6 January 1998 / Accepted: 8 May 1998     

Recrystallisation of oscillatory zoned zircon: some geochronological and petrological implications

Oscillatory zoning is a common feature in zircons from acid igneous rocks and is believed to form during crystallisation of zircons from a magma by a mechanism which is not yet understood. Many zircons with oscillatory zoning also show a patchwork replacement of zoned by unzoned zircon. The unzoned zircon occurs as rounded, transgressive patches distributed throughout the zoned zircon and as areas of transitional replacement where zoned zircon is progressively replaced by unzoned zircon such that only faint traces of original zones remain. This structure is interpreted as a progressive recrystallisation of the oscillatory zoned zircon made unstable by the incorporation of high concentrations of contaminant elements during magmatic crystallisation. Recrystallisation overprints oscillatory zones and appears to have occurred after completion of primary crystallisation. It is accompanied by loss of U, Th and Pb and the removal of oscillatory zones. The recrystallised unzoned zircon is extremely stable with respect to later Pb loss and tends to retain a concordant or slightly discordant U–Pb age. Recrystallisation provides a mechanism for resetting zircon U–Pb ages which is independent of the degree of radiation damage of the zircon lattice. This differs from other models of discordance which involve a leaching of radiogenic Pb as a consequence of a progressive breakdown of the zircon structure through time-integraded radiation damage further enhanced by high concentrations of trace-element contaminants. The U–Pb age of the unzoned zircon may date the recrystallisation event, which may be close to the age of primary crystallisation or reflect a later metamorphism.Dedicated to Borwin Grauert on the occasion of his sixtieth birthday     

湘中龙山大型金锑矿床成矿时代研究——黄铁矿Re-Os和锆石U-Th/He定年

龙山金锑矿床是湘中锑-金矿集区最重要的矿床之一,因缺少适合传统放射性同位素定年的矿物,其成矿时代以往未得到很好的限定,制约了对矿床成因的认识。由于分析测试技术的进步,Re-Os同位素定年技术得到了发展,可对热液矿床中形成的低Re、Os含量的硫化物进行较准确可靠的年龄测定,从而可为低温热液矿床的形成时代提供有效制约。锆石U-Th/He同位素定年,也是近年发展和成熟起来的定年技术,对低温热事件极其敏感,同样是约束低温成矿年龄的重要手段之一。本文采用矿床中黄铁矿Re-Os同位素和蚀变围岩中受成矿热事件影响的锆石U-Th/He同位素定年技术,对龙山金锑矿床的成矿时代进行了研究。定年结果显示:热液成因黄铁矿的Re-Os等时线年龄为195±36Ma,对应于印支晚期;锆石U-Th/He年龄为51.2~133.3Ma,经Ft校正后,U-Th/He年龄分布于93.78~258.29Ma之间,平均值为160.7±7.3Ma,对应于燕山早期。该矿床可能发生了200Ma和160Ma的两次成矿作用;或者矿床形成于200Ma左右,但是受到了160Ma左右岩浆热事件的改造,黄铁矿Re-Os年龄代表成矿年龄,而锆石U-Th/He年龄则代表第二期热事件发生的时间。无论是200Ma左右一次成矿,还是另有160Ma左右的成矿作用叠加,这两个年龄分别与区内两期岩浆活动的时间相当,这表明岩浆事件对驱动矿床的形成发挥了重要的作用。     

U and Th zonation in apatite observed by laser ablation ICPMS, and implications for the (U-Th)/He system

A laser-ablation inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry technique was developed to measure U, Th, and Ce zonation in polished sections of apatite for assessing the consequences of parent zonation for (U-Th)/He thermochronometry. The technique produces concentration maps with an averaging length-scale of ∼20 μm, comparable to the α-stopping distance, and a precision of ∼5% down to few ppm concentration levels. A model was developed to transform the measured concentration distribution into a simplified representation for use in spherical-geometry He production-diffusion models. To illustrate these methods, 30 sections of apatite from a single granite (GC863) were mapped. Every analyzed apatite from GC863 is zoned, with most grains having variable thickness rims and terminations that are enriched in U and Th by about a factor of three over the grain cores.Parent zonation has three independent effects on (U-Th)/He He ages: it influences the α ejection correction, the ⁴He concentration profile which governs diffusive loss, and, via radiation damage trap accumulation, spatial variability of diffusivity within the crystal. If the observed zonation is typical of the apatite population in GC863, use of the standard homogenous α ejection correction would cause He ages to be on average 3% too young, and with a large amount of grain-to-grain variability (9% too young in the most rim-enriched case to 6% too old in a core-enriched case). Independent of the ejection correction, the concentration profile modifies the effective closure temperature of the apatites by placing more (or less) ⁴He near the grain edge. The parent zonation in GC863 apatites causes closure temperatures to range from four degrees lower (rim-enriched case) to two degrees higher (core-enriched case) than applies in the homogenous case. Alpha ejection and concentration profile effects on He age are additive and of the same sense. In the case of typical grains in GC863 cooled between 1 and 10 °C/Ma, the two effects are roughly equal in magnitude. The effects of intracrystalline variations in radiation damage trap accumulation become apparent at slow cooling rates (1 °C/Ma). For example, in rim-enriched GC863 grains cooled at 1 °C/Ma, preferential accumulation of radiation damage traps near the grain rim almost compensates for the higher loss rate expected of ⁴He also located preferentially near the rim. Under some circumstances strong rim-enrichment may actually increase the effective closure temperature of an apatite. Zonation at the level observed in GC863 modifies the ⁴He/³He spectra substantially from that expected from a uniform distribution. Measured ⁴He/³He spectra are strikingly similar to predictions based on the mapped eU distributions of the very same crystals, supporting the overall validity of the analytical and interpretive approach presented here.The magnitude and style of U, Th zonation documented in GC863 is one possible source of frequently observed over-dispersion of apatite (U-Th)/He ages as well as anomalous ⁴He/³He spectra.     

川东北地区构造-热演化探讨——来自（U-Th）／He年龄和Ro的约束

利用镜质组反射率和磷灰石与锆石的(U-Th)/He年龄一起模拟了川东北地区三叠纪以来的构造-热演化特征。结果表明早三叠世的热流值在51～66mW/m2,自晚三叠世至白垩纪随盆地性质由前陆盆地演化为陆内坳陷盆地,热流缓慢降低直至现今的44.5mW/m2。但在晚白垩世—古新世时期受燕山晚期构造运动的影响,热流有一个微弱增高的现象。同时,磷灰石和锆石的He年龄揭示了川东北地区大致在晚白垩世期间开始隆升且抬升剥蚀量较大。因此,磷灰石和锆石的(U-Th)/He年龄可以揭示后期详细的冷却历史。     

甘肃白银厂矿田锆石红外光谱特征和地质年龄估测

应用矿物红外光谱学的方法系统研究了白银厂地区7件锆石同位素年龄样品的红外光谱。测定结果表明，3件样品的吸收峰强而窄，整体线形与标准的晶质锆石谱线相符合；其余4件样品的吸收相对较弱，峰形圆钝；谱线均有不同程度向变生锆石特征谱线的演化，以变生程度最高的LGG-6为尤。根据615cm^-1吸收峰的H／M值可将所研究样品分为晶质锆石、半变生锆石和变生锆石三类，并利用锆石红外光谱特征估测了铀钍含量和地质年龄。同时还评估了相应样品的U-Pb同位素年龄的可靠性。     

Origin of ~2.5 Ga potassic granite from the Nellore Schist Belt,SE India: textural,cathodoluminescence, and SHRIMP U–Pb data

In a geochemical and geochronological investigation of Archean and Proterozoic magmatism in the Nellore Schist Belt, we conducted SHRIMP U–Pb analyses of zircons from two cospatial granitic bodies at Guramkonda and Vendodu. The former is a Ba- and Sr-rich hornblende-bearing tonalite, whereas the latter is a Rb-, Zr-, Pb-, Th-, U-, and REE-rich biotite-bearing leucogranite. The Guramkonda tonalite displays a restitic texture with remnants of trapped granitic melt, whereas the Vendodu leucogranite contains residual/partially melted plagioclase grains. Both rock types contain two generations of zircon: tonalite contains a group of euhedral zoned zircons enclosed within plagioclase and a group of subhedral patchy zircons associated with trapped melt (quartz + feldspar matrix), and leucogranite also contains a group of doubly terminated euhedral zircons included within orthoclase as well as a group of zircons with visible cores mantled by later rim growth. Cathodoluminescence images also clearly document two distinctly textured varieties of zircon: the tonalite contains a population characterized by narrowly spaced uninterrupted oscillatory zoning and a second population lacking zoning but exhibiting a random distribution of dark (U-rich) and light (U-poor) regions; the leucogranite contains U-rich zoned zircons and U-poor zircon cores mantled by U-rich rims. The REE chemistry of zircon cores from the Vendodu leucogranite is very similar to the REE of zoned zircons from the Guramkonda tonalite. Zircon ages from both plutons exhibit bimodal distributions in U–Pb concordia diagrams. The tonalite defines an age of 2,521 Ma ± 5 Ma for zoned magmatic zircons and 2,485 Ma ± 5 Ma for unzoned newly precipitated zircons, whereas the leucogranite has an age of 2,518 Ma ± 5 Ma for U-poor zircon cores (relics of the tonalite pluton) and 2,483 Ma ± 3 Ma for U-rich zoned magmatic zircons. The trace element geochemistry of the ~2,520 Ma zircons is distinctly different from the ~2,485 Ma zircons, irrespective of the host rock. Our textural, CL image, and SHRIMP U–Pb analyses document the origin of the leucogranite by partial melting of the tonalite. High alkalis (Na₂O + K₂O), Rb, Nb, HREE, FeO^t/MgO and low Ca, Al, Ba, Sr, and large negative Eu anomalies characterize the leucogranite as a thermal minimum melt, whereas the very low K and Rb of the tonalite attests to its residual nature. We suggest that the leucogranite formed by high-T (900–950°C), moderate-pressure (<10 kbar) dehydration partial melting of the tonalite under reducing conditions. The calculated source compositions of the leucogranite melt and the tonalite residue show strong similarities to melts that are considered to have been produced in a subduction-zone environment. The leucogranite probably formed in a post-collisional realm immediately after accretion of the tonalitic crust.     

粤北大宝山矿区花岗闪长斑岩LA-ICP-MS锆石U-Pb年龄及其地质意义

对粤北大宝山钼钨多金属矿区的花岗闪长斑岩进行了锆石阴极发光显微结构观察和LA-ICP-MS锆石微区U-Pb定年.在锆石阴极发光图像中, 两个花岗闪长斑岩样品中的锆石颗粒具有明显的振荡环带, 为典型的岩浆锆石.LA-ICP-MS U-Pb定年结果显示: 大宝山花岗闪长斑岩样品中具岩浆环带锆石区域12个分析点的206Pb/238U加权平均年龄为175.8±1.5 Ma(MSWD=0.037), 船肚花岗闪长斑岩样品中具岩浆环带锆石区域16个分析点的206Pb/238U加权平均年龄为175.0±1.7 Ma(MSWD=0.41).它们的形成时代约175 Ma, 为燕山早期第Ⅰ阶段(180~170 Ma)产物.本次对大宝山矿区花岗闪长斑岩形成时代的准确厘定, 为大宝山和船肚花岗闪长斑岩原本连为一体被后期构造错断的认识提供了新证据, 岩体错断部位是矿区Mo-W矿进一步勘探的重要方向.结合相关研究表明, 其成岩成矿动力学背景与邻区岩体相似, 为南岭地区同一期岩石圈伸展-减薄事件的产物.同时启示我们, 在南岭地区还存在燕山早期第一阶段(180~170 Ma)利于形成Mo-W矿的花岗岩类小岩体未被揭露.      

花岗岩中锆石的韵律环带结构研究

花岗岩中锆石的电子荧光观察和微量元素分析表明,锆石中的韵律环带结构主要是以较宽的浅灰色条带与较窄的灰黑色条带交替重复出现而形成的。相应于条带灰度的变化,呈负相关性的锆与呈正相关性的铀的含量亦在起伏变化。由于锆石中铀与锆的类置同象置换是非常有限的,锆石中铀含量的变化主要取决于铀的分配系数的变化。因此,当含铀锆石的结晶过程处于非理想体系时,它以固溶体相变的形式来协调固液界面的局部体系与整个花岗质熔体的热力学平衡,从而形成含铀锆石的两种固溶体相交替生长的韵律环带结构。     

Residence, Resorption and Recycling of Zircons in Devils Kitchen Rhyolite, Coso Volcanic Field, California

Zircons from the Devils Kitchen rhyolite in the PleistoceneCoso Volcanic field, California have been analyzed by in situPb/U ion microprobe (SHRIMP-RG) and by detailed cathodoluminescenceimaging. The zircons yield common-Pb-corrected and disequilibrium-corrected²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U ages that predate a previously reported K–Arsanidine age by up to 200 kyr, and the range of ages exhibitedby the zircons is also approximately 200 kyr. Cathodoluminescenceimaging indicates that zircons formed in contrasting environments.Most zircons are euhedral, and a majority of the zircons areweakly zoned, but many also have anhedral, embayed cores, witheuhedral overgrowths and multiple internal surfaces that aretruncated by later crystal zones. Concentrations of U and Thvary by two orders of magnitude within the zircon population,and by 10–20 times between zones within some zircon crystals,indicating that zircons were transferred between contrastingchemical environments. A zircon saturation temperature of 750°Coverlaps within error a previously reported phenocryst equilibrationtemperature of 740 ± 25°C. Textures in zircons indicativeof repeated dissolution and subsequent regrowth are probablycaused by punctuated heating by mafic magma input into rhyolite.The overall span of ages and large variation in U and Th concentrations,combined with calculated zircon saturation temperatures andresorption times, are most compatible with crystallization inmagma bodies that were emplaced piecemeal in the crust at Cosoover 200 kyr prior to eruption, and that were periodically rejuvenatedor melted by subsequent basaltic injections. KEY WORDS: zircon geochronology; residence time; rhyolite; ion microprobe; California     

锆石红外光谱在地质研究中的应用

以甘肃白银厂地区的7件锆石同位素年龄样品为例,根据其红外光谱中615cm-1吸收峰的高和半高宽度的比值,将锆石样品的变生程度量化,并将其分为晶质锆石、半变生锆石和变生锆石3类。参考相关资料,利用7件锆石样品的红外光谱特征对其铀钍含量和"红外年龄"做了估测,并将估测年龄与其U Th年龄和全岩Rb Sr年龄进行了比较和分析。     

α-Emitting mineral inclusions in apatite, their effect on (U-Th)/He ages, and how to reduce it

U-Th rich mineral inclusions in apatite are often held responsible for erroneously old (U-Th)/He ages, because they produce “parentless” He. Three aspects associated with this problem are discussed here. First, simple dimensional considerations indicate that for small mineral inclusions, the parentless helium problem might not be as serious as generally thought. For example, a mineral inclusion that is 10% the length, width and height of its host apatite needs to be a thousand times more concentrated in U and Th to produce an equal amount of He. Therefore, single isolated inclusions smaller than a few μm are unlikely to contribute significant helium. For larger or more abundant inclusions, the parentless helium problem can be solved by dissolution of the apatite and its inclusions in hot HF. Second, besides creating parentless helium, inclusions also complicate α-ejection corrections. Mathematical exploration of this latter problem for spherical geometries reveals that for randomly distributed inclusions, the probability distribution of single-grain ages is predicted to have a sharp mode at the mean age, with tails towards younger and older ages. Multiple-grain measurements will yield accurate and precise age estimates if 10 or more randomly distributed α-emitting mineral inclusions are present in a sample. Third, thermal modeling indicates that mineral inclusions have a non-trivial but minor (<5 °C) effect on the closure temperature. These predictions were tested on apatites from rapidly cooled migmatites of Naxos (Greece) which contain abundant U-rich zircon inclusions. Thirty-seven samples were subjected to two kinds of treatment. The “pooled” age (i.e., the synthetic multi-grain age computed from a number of single-grain analyses) of four inclusion-free samples (13 apatites), prepared in HNO₃ is 10.9 Ma, close to apatite and zircon fission-track ages from the same rock. (U-Th)/He ages of 14 inclusion-bearing samples dissolved in HNO₃ range between 9 and 45 Ma, with a pooled age of 22.6 Ma. The ages of 19 HF-treated samples range between 5 and 16 Ma, with 10 of 14 single-grain samples between 9 and 13 Ma and a pooled age of 10.9 Ma. These observations agree with the theoretical predictions and support the addition of HF-treated apatite (U-Th)/He dating to the thermochronological toolbox.     

Acigöl rhyolite field,Central Anatolia (part 1): high-resolution dating of eruption episodes and zircon growth rates

Protracted pre-eruptive zircon residence is frequently detected in continental rhyolites and can conflict with thermal models, indicating briefer magma cooling durations if scaled to erupted volumes. Here, we present combined U-Th and (U-Th)/He zircon ages from the Acigöl rhyolite field (Central Anatolia, Turkey), which is part of a Quaternary bimodal volcanic complex. Unlike other geochronometers, this approach dates crystallization and eruption on the same crystals, allowing for internal consistency testing. Despite the overall longevity of Acigöl rhyolite volcanism and systematic trends of progressive depletion in compatible trace elements and decreasing zircon saturation temperatures, we find that zircon crystallized in two brief pulses corresponding to eruptions in the eastern and western part of the field during Middle and Late Pleistocene times, respectively. For Late Pleistocene zircon, resolvable differences exist between interior (average: 30.7 ± 0.9 ka; 1σ error) and rim (21.9 ± 1.3 ka) crystallization ages. These translate into radial crystal growth rates of ~10^?13 to 10^?14 cm/s, broadly consistent with those constrained by diffusion experiments. Rim crystallization and (U-Th)/He eruption ages (24.2 ± 0.4 ka) overlap within uncertainty. Evidence for brief zircon residence at Acigöl contrasts with many other rhyolite fields, suggesting that protracted zircon crystallization in, or recycling from, long-lived crystal mushes is not ubiquitous in continental silicic magma systems. Instead, the span of pre-eruptive zircon ages is consistent with autochthonous crystallization in individual small-volume magma batches that originated from basaltic precursors.     

北淮阳新开岭地区花岗岩锆石U-Pb年龄和氧同位素组成

对大别造山带北麓的北淮阳新开岭地区岩浆岩进行了锆石阴极发光显微结构观察和SHRIMP法锆石微区UPb定年.在锆石阴极发光图像中, 一个花岗岩样品中的大部分锆石颗粒具有明显的初始岩浆振荡环带, 为典型的岩浆锆石, 少有蚀变的颗粒和/或区域; 而另一个花岗岩样品中的锆石虽然同样具有振荡环带, 但是大部分颗粒中心的初始岩浆环带被扰动, 指示这些锆石为岩浆锆石, 受到了较强的后期热液蚀变的改造.对锆石具有初始岩浆环带和溶蚀结构的区域分别进行SHRIMP法UPb微区定年结果表明, 这些岩浆岩的形成年龄为(820±4) Ma, 热液蚀变作用发生的时间为(780±4) Ma.新开岭地区新元古代花岗质岩石的形成和后期超固相热液蚀变作用分别对应于超大陆裂解之前的约830~795Ma岩浆活动和裂解过程中约780~745Ma的岩浆作用.单矿物激光氟化氧同位素分析结果表明, 这些岩浆岩具有非常低的δ18O值, 其中锆石为1.90‰~5.78‰, 石英为-2.88‰~-7.67‰, 斜长石为-4.01‰~-11.40‰.锆石和其他矿物之间表现出强烈的氧同位素不平衡, 而其他矿物之间则达到了氧同位素的再平衡.结合不同δ18O值锆石的内部结构特征, 认为该地区的热液蚀变作用为超固相条件下的高温热液蚀变.这一过程不但改变了石英等矿物的氧同位素组成, 同时也不同程度地改变了锆石的氧同位素组成, 所以这些样品中低δ18O值锆石可能是超固相条件下热液蚀变的结果.石英中具有异常低的δ18O值表明蚀变流体来源应为寒冷气候大气降水.所以, 新开岭地区亏损18O蚀变岩石的形成与裂谷岩浆作用和雪球地球事件相耦合的高温大气降水热液蚀变有关.      

华北克拉通北缘中—新元古界构造-热演化:来自锆石(U-Th)/He年龄的约束

由于复杂的构造沉积史和缺乏有效古温标,华北克拉通北缘燕辽裂陷带中—新元古界热史研究很薄弱,造成古老烃源岩成熟演化过程一直存在争议.研究利用锆石(U-Th)/He热定年技术探讨了燕辽裂陷带自中元古代以来的构造-热演化史,并分析了中元古界两套烃源岩成熟演化期次.燕辽裂陷带中—新元古界单颗粒锆石(U-Th)/He年龄均小于地...     

Small-angle X-ray scattering measurement of the internal microstructure of natural zircon crystals

Zircon crystals change their physical properties significantly over time in response to the radiation damage (metamictization) induced in the lattice by the presence of radionuclides U and Th. Crystalline zircon has extremely low diffusion rates of the radiogenic daughter product, Pb. Lead diffusion is enhanced in metamict volumes, but the observed lack of correlation between Pb loss and metamictization in natural zircons requires that other mechanisms control the incidence of Pb migration. The proposition that self-induced stress and elasticity contrasts in zoned natural crystals create fast-track Pb migration pathways, in response to time-integrated radiation damage, requires a means of detecting the microstructures within zircons at the interatomic scale at which Pb migration takes place. Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) is introduced as a means of detecting candidate microstructures including subgrain boundaries, defect networks and microfractures produced by differential metamictization. It is shown that a classical X-ray source yields measurable SAXS response from contrasting metamict and crystalline domains within a crystal, and these properties are quantified for a metamict zircon megacryst. Detection of the weaker SAXS response expected from microfractures and networked defects requires the more intense X-rays of synchrotron-source radiation.     

Laser microprobe (U-Th)/He geochronology

A new analytical method had been developed to enable high-spatial-resolution (U-Th)/He dating of accessory minerals. It involves the use of a focused ArF excimer to ablate pits in a polished grain surface, with the evolved gases spiked for isotope-dilution measurement of radiogenic ⁴He. These data are converted to concentrations by precise measurement of each pit using an optical interferometric microscope. U, Th, and Sm concentration measurements are made using one of several alternative microanalytical techniques (e.g., wavelength-dispersive electron microprobe analysis or laser-ablation, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry). By way of illustration, we present both conventional and laser microprobe (U-Th)/He dating results for a Brazilian monazite sample. Laser microprobe data (28 measurements on two crystal fragments) yield a weighted mean (U-Th)/He date of 455.3 ± 3.7 Ma (2SE). This result is statistically indistinguishable from the mean conventional (U-Th)/He date for three separate grain fragments: 449.6 ± 9.8 Ma (2SE). The agreement of conventional and laser ablation dates should encourage a wide variety of applications of the technique, including: (1) detrital mineral dating for provenance and unroofing studies; (2) the dating of broken, included, highly zoned, or irregular grains which are not easily corrected for α-ejection; and (3) measuring ⁴He loss profiles that can be inverted to determine cooling histories.     

胶西北玲珑、焦家金矿田锆石(U-Th)/He年龄及其对成矿后剥露程度的指示

玲珑和焦家矿田是胶西北地区最负盛名的两个金矿田.目前有关这两个矿田成矿研究的成果已十分丰富,但是,成矿后隆升剥蚀程度的研究尚属空白.为此,利用最近兴起的低温热年代学技术,对两个矿田成矿后剥露程度进行了尝试研究.结果表明,玲珑矿田锆石(U-Th)/He年龄主要为80~100 Ma,焦家矿田锆石(U-Th)/He年龄主要为90~105 Ma.这些年龄与前人运用其他方法获得的成岩成矿年龄不同,其不是本区岩浆－热液成矿事件的年龄,而是成矿后花岗岩隆升剥蚀的热年龄.基于锆石(U-Th)/He年龄制约,估算本区成矿后隆升剥蚀速率大致与全球造山型金矿剥露速率相当(大约60 m/Ma).玲珑矿田总体比焦家矿田成矿后多剥露了600~900 m,焦家矿田深部找矿潜力应比玲珑矿田大.