K-Ar法与Ar-Ar法在油气成藏期定年的适用性

<正>迄今,K-Ar年代学已从最初的常规K-Ar定年,发展到分步加热释氩Ar-Ar、激光显微探针Ar-Ar等多种定年方法。目前应用于油气成藏年代学的方法主要是自生伊利石K-Ar法定年和Ar-Ar法定年,前者在我国已经开展了将近十年,而后者在油气成     

激光显微探针~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar定年进入了人类历史领域——评美国伯克莱地质年代学中心最新研究成果和年轻火山岩的定年极限

美国伯克莱地质年代学中心P.R.Renne等(1997)对采自意大利维苏威火山公元79年爆发喷出物中的透长石,进行了激光显微探针~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar定年,从46个分析数据中得到了~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar等时线年龄为1925±94 a,接近于与现今使用的格里历1918年前一致。这证明激光显微探针~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar定年法的可信度已扩展到记录人类历史的时间范畴。Renne等的最新研究成果把30多年来K-Ar地质年代学者对特别年轻火山岩的定年研究带入了一个新阶段,它为与晚新生代地质年代学有关的各种研究提供了一有力工具。     

自动化~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar定年设备研制

自主研发的小型高效气体纯化系统、二氧化碳激光熔样系统、流体包裹体提取系统和空气氩标定系统,与新一代小型高灵敏度多接收稀有气体质谱仪Argus VI联机,建立了激光阶段加热40Ar/39Ar定年、真空击碎流体包裹体40Ar/39Ar定年和空气氩标定等分析测试方法。开放式Qtegra Noble Gas软件和外部设备控制器Peri Con,使用户能够方便地自主增减和控制外部设备,实现计算机自动控制。通过"触点闭合"方式,Qtegra软件触发国产二氧化碳激光加热熔样软件启动,两者协调工作,实现激光阶段加热40Ar/39Ar定年分析的实验流程全自动化。空气氩分析获得了非常稳定的40Ar/36Ar比值,展示了自制空气氩标定系统和小型纯化系统的卓越性能,可资借鉴。新建40Ar/39Ar实验室为开展油气成藏年代学研究提供了一个高精度的测试平台。     

激光显微探针~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar定年方法研究成功

中国地质科学院地质研究所同位素地质研究室以陈文同志为首的课题组,从1991年开始,历经3年时间,于今年11月成功地建成了激光显微探针~(40)Ar/~(39)A~r年代测定实验室。它的建立标志着我国在微区、微量样品~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar定年技术方面已接近国际最先进水平,同时也使我国的Ar法定年技术在历经了从K-Ar稀释法到~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar阶段升温法之后又取得了一次突破性进展。和传统的~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar测年方法相比,激光显微探针~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar定年法的主要进步表现在以下几个方面: 1.样品用量少(2μg):传统的~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar测年过     

K-Ar、~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar定年中尼尔值和初始氩比值

K-Ar、~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar定年中,用以计算囚禁~(40)Ar绝对量的~(40)Ar/~(36)Ar,称为初始氩比值。现代大气中的初始氩比值叫尼尔值,为295.5。K-Ar、~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar定年的表观年龄都是在假设初始氩比值与现代大气中的尼尔值一致的基础上得到的。事实证明,地球样品的初始氩比值不总是尼尔值,因此这种假定不可靠,尤其在对年轻样品进行K-Ar、~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar定年时,会带来错误的表观年龄结果。对于K-Ar、~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar精细年代学,特别对于年轻样品和低钾含量样品,只有初始氩比值才对定年研究有意义,而初始氩比值只能通过~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar等时线法求得。所以严格地讲,只有等时线年龄才是可靠的。结合实验流程,本文分析了~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar定年中为什么大多数等时线获取的初始氩比值接近尼尔值,一是因为常规~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar坪年龄的计算方法,二是因为吸附氩的干扰。初始氩比值的一致性,被用来证明样品同位素同源和封闭特性,对年龄数据的精度及可靠性有非常大的影响,尤其是年轻样品。因此,在~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar定年中要选取氩同位素初始比值一致的同源样品,并在实验流程中尽量克服样品吸附气体。本文对传统~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar方法中坪年龄、年龄坪的意义提出了质疑,对提高~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar定年的精度具有重要意义,并使之能够应用到极年轻的火山岩定年中。     

全自动40Ar/39Ar激光探针定年系统空白本底与微量样品定年

氩-氩定年法中系统的空白本底是实现微区微量定年的关键条件。在北京大学“造山带与地壳演化教育部重点实验室全自动40Ar/39Ar激光探针定年系统”上以ZBH-25黑云母标样为试验样品进行了1个颗粒、3个颗粒和5个颗粒的全熔法定年以及7个颗粒的4步、9步、14步、19步和24步的分步释氩年龄谱测试。获得的5个氩同位素空白本底水平表明,本系统已经完全具备对中生代或更老的地质样品进行单颗粒全熔法等时线定年的能力。矿物或岩石光片原位全熔法定年的空白本底条件也已经具备。在适当增加样品量情况下（如10个颗粒）,几个百万年的年轻样品全熔等时线定年也可以实现。去除干扰分子对36Ar空白本底的影响,以及系统长期稳定运行后36Ar空白本底的逐渐降低,实现微量样品的分步释氩年龄谱定年是必然的。     

40Ar-39Ar同位素定年方法研究进展

^40Ar-^39Ar同位素定年法是由K-Ar法发展而来,通过将39K利用快中子辐照衰变成^39Ar,测量40Ar^＊/^39Ar来获得年龄值.经过长期发展,该方法的测试技术逐渐成熟,其中气体提取发展为常规阶段升温法、激光显微探针法以及真空压碎流体包裹体法;气体纯化主要有冷阱去除法、钛泵吸附法、锆铝泵吸附法;气体测试的质谱仪也在灵敏度、分辨率、背景值等技术指标上有很大提高.^40Ar-^39Ar同位素定年法在石油、固体矿产等方面应用广泛,尤其在油气成藏时间、成岩成矿作用时间的热年代学研究等领域.     

表生钾锰矿物~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar年代学及其古气候意义

红土型风化壳和次生锰矿床形成于温暖和潮湿的古气候条件 ,其中含有丰富的表生钾锰矿物。因此 ,对表生钾锰矿物进行精确的40 Ar/ 3 9Ar年龄测定 ,不仅能查明大陆化学风化和矿床次生富集的时间和过程 ,而且可以为区域古气候的反演提供重要的年代学资料。透射电子显微镜、热重分析、离子交换实验和40 Ar/ 3 9Ar同位素分析表明 ,层状结构的黑锌锰矿、锂锰矿和钠水锰矿以及具有 1× 1隧道结构的软锰矿不适合于40 Ar/ 3 9Ar年龄测定 ;而隐钾锰矿、锰钡矿和锰铅矿因具有致密和稳定的 2× 2隧道结构及很强的保存K Ar体系的能力 ,是40 Ar/ 3 9Ar同位素定年的理想对象。硬锰矿和钙锰矿分别具有 2× 3和 3× 3隧道结构 ,由于隧道孔径过大 ,晶体结构的稳定性较差 ,其作为40Ar/ 3 9Ar测年的适用性有待于进一步证实。采用精细的激光阶段加热技术 ,可以有效克服表生钾锰矿物40 Ar/ 3 9Ar测年过程中3 9ArK 的反冲损失、多世代表生钾锰矿物的共生 ,以及表生钾锰矿物中原生矿物的污染和过量大气氩的存在等问题 ,并获得有意义的风化年龄。已有数据表明 ,表生钾锰矿物的形成主要集中在白垩纪末期、始新世末期—渐新世早期、中新世和上新世中期等 4个时期 ,可能记录了地史时期周期性的化学风化及气候的交替演变     

~(36)Ar/~(39)Ar-~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar等时线方法的应用——以新疆查汗萨拉锑、银矿带为例

等时线方法在K Ar年代学中得到广泛应用 ,本文利用一种新的3 6Ar 3 9Ar 4 0 Ar 3 9Ar等时线方法 ,计算查南疆汗萨拉锑、银矿带中石英脉的40 Ar 3 9Ar实验数据 ,并与其他等时线方法进行对比 ,得到非常一致的结果。     

~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar热年代学现状与问题

Ar同位素体系定年矿物的封闭温度范围广,并且可以获得650℃～150℃温度段的非线性冷却历史,因此~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar热年代学成为研究地质体热演化历史过程中最有效的工具之一。但是由于矿物中Ar同位素扩散机制还有一些问题没有清楚地被认识,因此在一定程度上制约了~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar热年代学的发展。本文介绍了目前应用最广泛的两种~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar热年代学模式:多重扩散域模式和多路径扩散模式,讨论了它们的发展现状、存在的问题、可能解决的方法以及今后的发展方向。     

Phlogopite40Ar/39Ar geochronology of mantle xenoliths from the North China Craton: Constraints on the eruption ages of Cenozoic basalts

Mantle xenoliths provide direct information about lithospheric evolution and asthenosphere–lithosphere interaction, and therefore precise dating of the host basalts which carried the xenoliths is important. Here we report ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronology of phlogopite separates from five spinel lherzolite xenoliths collected from the North China Craton (Hannuoba of Hebei Province, Sanyitang of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Hebi of Henan Province), as well as the groundmass of the host basalts. Argon extraction was performed by conventional step heating technique and ultra-violet laser ablation microprobe (UVLAMP) technique. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar incremental heating results on groundmass yielded geologically meaningless ages. However, conventional step heating on phlogopites produced Miocene cooling ages, identical to the eruption ages obtained from the K–Ar dating methods of the Hannuoba and Sanyitang basalts. Adopting procedures to exclude potential influence of excess radiogenic Ar from a deep fluid source on a phlogopite separate from lherzolite yielded results with a good agreement of ages suggesting that the argon isotopes are distributed homogenously in this mineral, with no influence of excess argon. Phlogopites from Hebi yield ages between 6.43 and 6.44 Ma which are slightly older than those obtained from K–Ar method on whole-rocks. The discrepancy in the K–Ar ages obtained from the altered whole-rock samples suggests partial loss of ⁴⁰Ar. As a consequence, phlogopite Ar–Ar ages are considered more accurate than that of the whole-rocks. These results suggest that ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar chronology of phlogopite provides reliable and precise ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages of host basalts.     

风化矿物黄钾铁矾40Ar/39Ar 测年的基本方法——从样品采集到年龄测试

由于40Ar/39Ar定年方法在技术上极具复杂性,目前,国内在开展干旱区研究中很少使用风化矿物定年研究手段。重点介绍黄钾铁矾矿物40Ar/39Ar定年法的基本流程,并针对该方法的技术问题初步探讨了解决办法。研究表明,科学的野外采集样品、仔细的挑选矿物并综合采用多种测试手段（X衍射、扫描电镜、电子探针）进行监测可以获得纯净的风化矿物,并结合精细的40Ar/39Ar阶段加热技术,能够获得比较可靠的风化矿物40Ar/39Ar年龄。     

年轻火山岩的定年:进展与问题

年轻火山岩定年对人类的起源与进化、地质年表建立、古环境演化、火山灾害、岩浆演化及地球动力学等研究非常重要。由于年轻样品放射性成因子体积累较少、大气氩含量高,微量的过剩氩极难识别,使得年轻火山岩及其沉积地层高精度定年一直是地质年代学中最具挑战性的课题之一。过去几年,年轻火山岩定年在技术上的进展主要体现在定年精度和准确度不断提升,尤其是利用新型多接收稀有气体质谱对单颗粒样品进行逐步升温~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar定年,是方法学上最重要的进展之一。本文总结了年轻火山岩~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar定年的现状、影响因素和相关定年技术及应用,以引起大家的关注和思考,共同提高我国年轻火山岩定年的技术水平。利用新型多接收质谱和创新的实验方法,通过对全球重要火山喷发事件和年轻国际标准样的研究,广泛开展实验室间的对比是提高国内~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar年代学水平并在年轻火山岩定年中取得突破的重要途径,也是当前~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar年代学研究的重要方向。     

KArMars: A Breadboard Model for In Situ Absolute Geochronology Based on the K–Ar Method Using UV‐Laser‐Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy and Quadrupole Mass Spectrometry

We present a breadboard prototype to perform in situ dating applicable to planetary exploration. Based on the K–Ar dating method and using instruments inspired by flight‐proven analytical components, ‘KArMars’ ablated a geological sample under high vacuum with a quadrupled ultraviolet (UV at 266 nm) Nd:YAG laser. During ablation, the K content of the target material was given by laser‐induced breakdown spectroscopy and the released ⁴⁰Ar was measured with a quadrupole mass spectrometer. Because K was measured as a concentration and ⁴⁰Ar as a count of atoms, these values were converted using the ablated mass given by the product of the density and the ablated volume. The uncertainties of the age measurement were < 15%. The quality of the K–Ar measurements was enhanced by the advantages of UV laser ablation such as the minimisation of thermal effects on argon diffusion. This work demonstrates that a specialised instrument inspired by this set‐up could provide in situ absolute geochronology with sufficient precision for scientific investigations, particularly where the crater density counting provides higher uncertainties on Mars.     

激光Ar/Ar微区定年的应用及展望

⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar定年中,存在一些使用传统的大样逐步升温技术难以处理的难题,如变质及沉积岩样品常含有多期次矿物而难以获得理想结果,过剩Ar在样品中的分布以及来源问题一直难以有效解决,根据缓慢冷却钾长石的⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar年龄谱提出的热演化模型也因为Ar在矿物中扩散机制的不明确性而不断受到质疑。20世纪90年代将紫外激光（UV-laser）成功引入⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar年代学分析后,为解决这些难题提供了一种思路。借助激光微区     

40Ar-39Ar同位素测年方法及其应用

^40Ar—^39Ar测年法的出现，为同位素地质年代学开辟了一个新的领域；但过剩氩的存在、年龄谱的分析方法，又制约着地质事件的年龄解释。在介绍该方法的原理、校正、年龄谱的分析和应用及过剩氩问题等方面内容的基础上，结合阿尔金断裂研究实例，对该断裂中的新生矿物进行了^40Ar-^39Ar测年，进而确定了阿尔金断裂走滑活动的年龄。     

Instrumentation Development for In Situ 40Ar/39Ar Planetary Geochronology

The chronology of the Solar System, particularly the timing of formation of extra‐terrestrial bodies and their features, is an outstanding problem in planetary science. Although various chronological methods for in situ geochronology have been proposed (e.g., Rb‐Sr, K‐Ar), and even applied (K‐Ar), the reliability, accuracy, and applicability of the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar method makes it by far the most desirable chronometer for dating extra‐terrestrial bodies. The method however relies on the neutron irradiation of samples, and thus a neutron source. Herein, we discuss the challenges and feasibility of deploying a passive neutron source to planetary surfaces for the in situ application of the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar chronometer. Requirements in generating and shielding neutrons, as well as analysing samples are described, along with an exploration of limitations such as mass, power and cost. Two potential solutions for the in situ extra‐terrestrial deployment of the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar method are presented. Although this represents a challenging task, developing the technology to apply the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar method on planetary surfaces would represent a major advance towards constraining the timescale of solar system formation and evolution.     

Laser probe Ar/Ar dating: History and development from a technical perspective

The ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar method using a laser probe opened the door to microscale measurements and diffusion profiles frozen in samples. In the first decade since the initial application of a laser for ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating in 1973, practical applications have been few. This is due not only to the fact that the laser and vacuum technologies were immature but that mass spectrometry was also in its infancy. In those days, the sensitivity of a mass spectrometer was generally insufficient to measure the small amount of argon degassed from a geological sample by a laser. These problems have subsequently been solved by new technologies. To understand their current status, a brief history of their development is outlined. This outline focuses on the required detection limit in micro scale measurement, practical approaches for accurate measurement are explained through examples in our laboratory specifically relating to the technical aspects of ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating.     

Laser probe 40Ar/39Ar dating: History and development from a technical perspective

The ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar method using a laser probe opened the door to microscale measurements and diffusion profiles frozen in samples. In the first decade since the initial application of a laser for ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating in 1973, practical applications have been few. This is due not only to the fact that the laser and vacuum technologies were immature but that mass spectrometry was also in its infancy. In those days, the sensitivity of a mass spectrometer was generally insufficient to measure the small amount of argon degassed from a geological sample by a laser. These problems have subsequently been solved by new technologies. To understand their current status, a brief history of their development is outlined. This outline focuses on the required detection limit in micro scale measurement, practical approaches for accurate measurement are explained through examples in our laboratory specifically relating to the technical aspects of ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating.