CHIME dating of monazite,xenotime, zircon and polycrase: Protocol,pitfalls and chemical criterion of possibly discordant age data

This paper outlines the CHIME (chemical Th–U-total Pb isochron method) dating method, which is based on precise electron microprobe analyses of Th, U and Pb in Th- and U-bearing accessory minerals such as monazite, xenotime, zircon and polycrase. The age-mapping technique that is applicable to young monazite and zircon is also described. CHIME dating consists of analyzing multiple spots within homogeneous age domains that show sufficient compositional variation, and then these data are used to construct a “pseudo-isochron” from which an age can be obtained via regression. This method, when coupled with discrimination of possibly concordant age data by chemical criteria such as the (Ca + Si)/(Th + U + Pb + S) ratio for monazite and Ca and S contents for zircon, has the potential advantage of significant precision, and the ability to work with minerals that have a significant initial common Pb component. This technique can identify two or more homogeneous domains that are separated by age gaps smaller than the error on individual spot age analysis. Many features that are insignificant in major element analysis can have major impact in the acquisition of trace element data. Critical factors include the roles of collimator slit, detector gas, background estimation, accelerating voltage, probe current, X-ray interferences and count rate in affecting the accuracy, and a way to apply the Th and U interference correction without pure Th- and U-oxides or synthesized pure ThSiO₄. The age-mapping procedure for young monazite and zircon includes acquiring PbMα (or PbMβ) intensity of individual pixels with multiple spectrometers, correcting background with background maps computed from a measured background intensity by the intensity relationships determined in advance of the measurement, calibrating of intensity with standards and calculating of ages from the Th, U and Pb concentrations. This technique provides age maps that show differences in age domains on the order of 20 Ma with in monazite as young as 100 Ma. The effect of sample damage by irradiation of intense and prolonged probe measurement is also described.     

Discovery of a c.370 Ma granitic gneiss clast from the Hwanggangri pebble-bearing phyllite in the Okcheon metamorphic belt, Korea

The chemical Th–U total Pb isochron method (CHIME) of dating was carried out on accessory minerals in samples from the Okcheon metamorphic belt in Korea. Dated minerals include xenotime and monazite with overgrown mantles in a granitic gneiss clast from the Hwanggangri Formation, metamorphic allanite in garnet-bearing muscovite–chlorite schist of the Munjuri Formation, and polycrase and monazite in post-tectonic granite from the Hwanggangri area. Overgrowth of mantles took place at 369 ± 10 Ma on c. 1750 Ma cores of xenotime and monazite in the granitic gneiss. Allanite, occurring in textural equilibrium with peak metamorphic minerals, yields a CHIME age of 246 ± 15 Ma that is discriminably older than the polycrase (170 ± 6 Ma) and monazite (170 ± 3 Ma) ages of the post-tectonic granite. These chronological data suggest that some of the metasedimentary rocks in the belt formed through a single stage of metamorphism at c. 250 Ma from post-370 Ma sediments. Late Permian age signatures have also been reported from the Precambrian Gyeonggi and Yeongnam massifs that border the Okcheon metamorphic belt, and indicate that parts of the basement massifs and the metamorphic belt were affected by the same regional metamorphic event.     

EPMA and PIXE dating of monazite in granulites from Stary Gierałtów, NE Bohemian Massif, Poland

Chemical Th–U–total Pb (CHIME) dating of monazite by electron probe microanalyzer (EPMA) and proton microprobe (PIXE) was carried out on felsic granulites from Stary Gierałtów, Poland, which represent part of the Orlica-Śnieżnik Dome in the NE Bohemian Massif. Analyzed monazite is characterized by mosaic zoning rather than simple core-to-rim growth, and strontium contents of up to 750ppm. An isochron age of 347 ± 13Ma represents timing of amphibolite-facies metamorphism, in agreement with previously published estimates.     

数据不协调时独居石EPMA CHIME定年计算方法的改进

Th-U-Pb系统数据不协调是独居石电子探针化学定年(EPMA CHIME Dating)中一种很常见的问题。独居石矿物产生数据不协调的主要原因包括:1)蚀变或重结晶造成的铅丢失;2)不同年龄域在空间上的重叠或者存在于很小颗粒上的小年龄域。独居石EPMA年龄必大于U等于0时的极端情况给出的值,即当U为0时,EPMA CHIME年龄给出的是~(208)Pb/~(232)Th年龄,这是测量区域内最老年龄的下限。当Th为0时,EPMA CHIME年龄值介于~(206)Pb/~(238)U和~(207)Pb/~(235)U年龄值之间,这是EPMA法所能得到的最老年龄的上限。分析表明,当独居石EPMA数据出现不协调时,传统等时线方法计算的年龄值误差较大。本文提出了一种处理数据不协调情况下的优化算法。该算法考虑了测量误差,并根据剩余铀的总量剔出大的离散数据。利用已公开的数据进行算法对比的结果表明,本文提出的优化算法计算结果可靠。     

Contrasting ages between isotopic chronometers in granulites: monazite dating and metamorphism in the Higo Complex, Japan

The Higo Complex of west-central Kyushu, western Japan is a 25 km long body of metasedimentary and metabasic lithologies that increase in metamorphic grade from schist in the north to migmatitic granulite in the south, where granitoids are emplaced along the southern margin. The timing of granulite metamorphism has been extensively investigated and debated. Previously published Sm–Nd mineral isochrons for garnet-bearing metapelite yielded ca.220–280 Ma ages, suggesting high-grade equilibration older than the lower grade schist to the north, which yielded ca.180 Ma K–Ar muscovite ages. Ion and electron microprobe analyses on zircon have yielded detrital grains with rim ages of ca.250 Ma and ca.110 Ma. Electron microprobe ages from monazite and xenotime are consistently 110–130 Ma. Two models have been proposed: 1) high-grade metamorphism and tectonism at ca.115 Ma, with older ages attributed to inheritance; and 2) high-grade metamorphism at ca.250 Ma, with resetting of isotopic systems by contact metamorphism at ca.105 Ma during the intrusion of granodiorite. These models are evaluated through petrographic investigation and electron microprobe Th–U–total Pb dating of monazite in metapelitic migmatites and associated lithologies. In-situ investigation of monazite reveals growth and dissolution features associated with prograde and retrograde stages of progressive metamorphism and deformation. Monazite Th–U–Pb isochrons from metapelite, diatexite and late-deformational felsic dykes consistently yield ca.110–120 Ma ages. Earlier and later stages of monazite growth cannot be temporally resolved. The preservation of petrogenetic relationships, coupled with the low diffusion rate of Pb at < 900 °C in monazite, is strong evidence for timing high-temperature metamorphism and deformation at ca.115 Ma. Older ages from a variety of chronometers are attributed to isotopic disequilibrium between mineral phases and the preservation of inherited and detrital age components. Tentative support is given to tectonic models that correlate the Higo terrane with exotic terranes between the Inner and Outer tectonic Zones of southwest Japan, possibly derived from the active continental margin of the South China Block. These terranes were dismembered and translated northeastwards by transcurrent shearing and faulting from the beginning to the end of the Cretaceous Period.     

Reactive monazite and robust zircon growth in diatexites and leucogranites from a hot,slowly cooled orogen: implications for the Palaeoproterozoic tectonic evolution of the central Fennoscandian Shield,Sweden

Monazite in melt-producing, poly-metamorphic terranes can grow, dissolve or reprecipitate at different stages during orogenic evolution particularly in hot, slowly cooling orogens such as the Svecofennian. Owing to the high heat flow in such orogens, small variations in pressure, temperature or deformation intensity may promote a mineral reaction. Monazite in diatexites and leucogranites from two Svecofennian domains yields older, coeval and younger U–Pb SIMS and EMP ages than zircon from the same rock. As zircon precipitated during the melt-bearing stage, its U–Pb ages reflect the timing of peak metamorphism, which is associated with partial melting and leucogranite formation. In one of the domains, the Granite and Diatexite Belt, zircon ages range between 1.87 and 1.86 Ga, whereas monazite yields two distinct double peaks at 1.87–1.86 and 1.82–1.80 Ga. The younger double peak is related to monazite growth or reprecipitation during subsolidus conditions associated with deformation along late-orogenic shear zones. Magmatic monazite in leucogranite records systematic variations in composition and age during growth that can be directly linked to Th/U ratios and preferential growth sites of zircon, reflecting the transition from melt to melt crystallisation of the magma. In the adjacent Ljusdal Domain, peak metamorphism in amphibolite facies occurred at 1.83–1.82 Ga as given by both zircon and monazite chronology. Pre-partial melting, 1.85 Ga contact metamorphic monazite is preserved, in spite of the high-grade overprint. By combining structural analysis, petrography and monazite and zircon geochronology, a metamorphic terrane boundary has been identified. It is concluded that the boundary formed by crustal shortening accommodated by major thrusting.     

Electron microprobe U–Th–Pb monazite dating of the Transamazonian metamorphic overprint on Archean rocks from the Amapá Block, southeastern Guiana Shield, Northern Brazil

The Amapá Block, southeastern Guiana Shield, represents an Archean block involved in a large Paleoproterozoic belt, with evolution related to the Transamazonian orogenic cycle (2.26 to 1.95 Ga). High spatial resolution dating using an electron-probe microanalyzer (EPMA) was employed to obtain U–Th–Pb chemical ages in monazite of seven rock samples of the Archean basement from that tectonic block, which underwent granulite- and amphibolite-facies metamorphism. Pb–Pb zircon dating was also performed on one sample.Monazite and zircon ages demonstrate that the metamorphic overprinting of the Archean basement occurred during the Transamazonian orogenesis, and two main tectono-thermal events were recorded. The first one is revealed by monazite ages of 2096 ± 6, 2093 ± 8, 2088 ± 8, 2087 ± 3 and 2086 ± 8 Ma, and by the zircon age of 2091 ± 5 Ma, obtained in granulitic rocks. These concordant ages provided a reliable estimate of the time of the granulite-facies metamorphism in the southwest of the Amapá Block and, coupled with petro-structural data, suggest that it was contemporaneous to the development of a thrusting system associated to the collisional stage of the Transamazonian orogenesis, at about 2.10–2.08 Ga.The later event, under amphibolite-facies conditions, is recorded by monazite ages of 2056 ± 7 and 2038 ± 6 Ma, and is consistent with a post-collisional stage, marked by granite emplacement and coeval migmatization of the Archean basement along strike-slip shear zones.     

EPMA and PIXE dating of monazite in granulites from Stary Gierałtów,NE Bohemian Massif,Poland

Chemical Th–U–total Pb (CHIME) dating of monazite by electron probe microanalyzer (EPMA) and proton microprobe (PIXE) was carried out on felsic granulites from Stary Gierałtów, Poland, which represent part of the Orlica-Śnieżnik Dome in the NE Bohemian Massif. Analyzed monazite is characterized by mosaic zoning rather than simple core-to-rim growth, and strontium contents of up to 750ppm. An isochron age of 347 ± 13Ma represents timing of amphibolite-facies metamorphism, in agreement with previously published estimates.     

Electron microprobe dating of monazite substantiates ages of major geological events in the southern Brazilian shield

To obtain the chemical Th^*–Pb isochron ages and surface maps of monazite crystals in igneous and metamorphic rocks from the southern Brazilian Shield, we employ Th–U-total Pb dating by an electron probe microanalyzer. The ages of two Trans-Amazonian metamorphic events are given by a felsic, garnet-bearing granulite from the Santa Maria Chico granulitic complex. The age of the first event, at approximately 2.35 Ga, was obtained by surface mapping in a grain included in garnet. The dating of the second event, 1899±43 Ma, is in agreement with previous data obtained in zircon crystals with sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe. Other determinations belong to the Brasiliano cycle. In the São Gabriel block, an age of 643±129 Ma was obtained on monazite from a staurolite-garnet schist of the Cambaizinho Formation, whereas a staurolite-bearing schist from the Passo Feio complex yielded a 510±68 Ma age. Several units in the Dom Feliciano belt were dated, including the biotite-sillimanite gneisses of the Várzea do Capivarita complex (552±90 Ma), the sillimanite-garnet gneisses of Camboriú complex (565±77 Ma), the Três Figueiras granite (558±57 Ma), and the Plaza Itapema granite (545±55 Ma). The ages presented in this study, obtained through monazite chemical dating, are confirmed through comparison with previous data regarding zircon crystals from the same geological units.     

Alteration of crystalline zircon solid solutions: a case study on zircon from an alkaline pegmatite from Zomba–Malosa, Malawi

A natural, altered zircon crystal from an alkaline pegmatite from the Zomba–Malosa Complex of the Chilwa Alkaline Province in Malawi has been studied by a wide range of analytical techniques to understand the alteration process. The investigated zircon shows two texturally and chemically different domains. Whereas the central parts of the grain (zircon I) appear homogeneous in backscattered electron images and are characterised by high concentrations of trace elements, particularly Th, U, and Y, the outer regions (zircon II) contain significantly less trace elements, numerous pores, and inclusions of thorite, ytttrialite, and fergusonite. Zircon II contains very low or undetectable concentrations of non-formula elements such as Ca, Al, and Fe, which are commonly observed in high concentrations in altered radiation-damaged zircon. U–Pb dating of both zircon domains by LA-ICPMS and SHRIMP yielded statistically indistinguishable U–Pb weighted average ages of 119.3 ± 2.1 (2σ) and 118 ± 1.2 (2σ) Ma, respectively, demonstrating that the zircon had not accumulated a significant amount of self-irradiation damage at the time of the alteration event. Electron microprobe dating of thorite inclusions in zircon II yielded a Th–U-total Pb model age of 122 ± 5 (2σ) Ma, supporting the age relationship between both zircon domains. The hydrothermal solution responsible for the alteration of the investigated zircon was alkaline and rich in CO₃ ²⁻, as suggested by the occurrence of REE carbonates and CO₂-bearing fluid inclusions. The alteration of the crystalline, trace element-rich zircon is explained by an interface-coupled dissolution-reprecipitation mechanism. During such a process, the congruent dissolution of the trace element-rich parent zircon I was spatially and temporally coupled to the precipitation of the trace element-poor zircon II at an inward moving dissolution-precipitation front. The driving force for such a process was merely the difference between the solubility of the trace element-rich and -poor zircon in the hydrothermal solution. The replacement process and the occurrence of mineral inclusions and porosity in the product zircon II is explained by the thermodynamics of solid solution-aqueous solution systems.     

Syntectonic crustal melting and high-grade metamorphism in a transpressional regime, Variscan Massif Central, France

Hot collisional orogens are characterized by abundant syn-kinematic granitic magmatism that profoundly affects their tectono-thermal evolutions. Voluminous granitic magmas, emplaced between 360 and 270 Ma, played a visibly important role in the evolution of the Variscan Orogen. In the Limousin region (western Massif Central, France), syntectonic granite plutons are spatially associated with major strike–slip shear zones that merge to the northwest with the South Armorican Shear Zone. This region allowed us to assess the role of magmatism in a hot transpressional orogen. Microstructural data and U/Pb zircon and monazite ages from a mylonitic leucogranite indicate synkinematic emplacement in a dextral transpressional shear zone at 313 ± 4 Ma. Leucogranites are coeval with cordierite-bearing migmatitic gneisses and vertical lenses of leucosome in strike–slip shear zones. We interpret U/Pb monazite ages of 315 ± 4 Ma for the gneisses and 316 ± 2 Ma for the leucosomes as the minimum age of high-grade metamorphism and migmatization respectively. These data suggest a spatial and temporal relationship between transpression, crustal melting, rapid exhumation and magma ascent, and cooling of high-grade metamorphic rocks.Some granites emplaced in the strike–slip shear zone are bounded at their roof by low dip normal faults that strike N–S, perpendicular to the E–W trend of the belt. The abundant crustal magmatism provided a low-viscosity zone that enhanced Variscan orogenic collapse during continued transpression, inducing the development of normal faults in the transpression zone and thrust faults at the front of the collapsed orogen.     

Dating of young (<1 Ma) tephras: Using U‐Pb (zircon) and (U‐Th[‐Sm])/He (zircon,apatite, magnetite) chronometers to unravel the eruption age of a tephra in the Woodlark Rift of Papua New Guinea

The dating of volcanic tephras forms a critical cornerstone of chronostratigraphy and is paramount for the resolution of the geological timescale. (U‐Th[‐Sm])/He dating is an emerging tool in Quaternary tephrochronology and ideally suited to date tephras <1 Ma. We present zircon, magnetite and apatite (U‐Th[‐Sm])/He combined with zircon U‐Pb data for a Pleistocene tephra in syn‐rift strata of the Woodlark Rift in Papua New Guinea. The results reveal a young He age mode (~0.5 to 0.8 Ma), consistent with an autocrystic zircon U‐Pb crystallisation age of 0.8 ± 0.1 Ma, as well as a broad range of older (U‐Th[‐Sm])/He (~1.6 to 10.2 Ma) and U‐Pb (~4.4 to 107 Ma) ages. These data demonstrate the potential of integrated U‐Pb and (U‐Th[‐Sm])/He multi‐method chronometry for dating the youngest coherent age mode, detecting contaminant grains and evaluating the isotopic systematics of these techniques.     

Petrology and CHIME geochronology of Pan-African high K and Sr/Y granitoids in the Nkambe area, Cameroon

The Central African Belt in the Nkambe area, northwestern Cameroon represents a collisional zone between the Saharan metacraton and the Congo craton during the Pan-African orogeny, and exposes a variety of granitoids including foliated and massive biotite monzogranites in syn- and post-kinematic settings. Foliated and massive biotite monzogranites have almost identical high-K calc-alkaline compositions, with 73–67 wt.% SiO₂, 17–13 wt.% Al₂O₃, 2.1–0.9 wt.% CaO, 4.4–2.7 wt.% Na₂O and 6.3–4.4 wt.% K₂O. High concentrations of Rb (264–96 ppm), Sr (976–117 ppm), Ba (3680–490 ppm) and Zr (494–99 ppm), with low concentrations of Y (mostly< 20 ppm with a range 54–6) and Nb (up to 24 ppm) suggest that the monzogranites intruded in collisional and post-collisional settings. The Sr/Y ratio ranges from 25 to 89. K, Rb and Ba resided in a single major phase such as K-feldspar in the source. Garnet was present in the source and remained as restite at the site of magma generation. This high K₂O and Sr/Y granitic magma was generated by partial melting of a granitic protolith under high-pressure and H₂O undersaturated conditions where garnet coexists with K-feldspar, albitic plagioclase. CHIME (chemical Th–U-total Pb isochron method) dating of zircon yields ages of 569 ± 12–558 ± 24 Ma for the foliated biotite monzogranite and 533 ± 12–524 ± 28 Ma for the massive biotite monzogranite indicating that the collision forming the Central African Belt continued in to Ediacaran (ca 560 Ma).     

A Potential (U‐Th)/He Zircon Reference Material from Penglai Zircon Megacrysts

In this study (U‐Th)/He dating of the Penglai zircons, which occur as abundant megacrysts in Neogene alkaline basalts in northern Hainan Province, south‐eastern China, was undertaken. A weighted mean age of 4.06 ± 0.35 Ma (2s) with a mean square weighted deviation (MSWD) of 1.79 was obtained from eighteen fragments of four zircon megacrysts using single‐crystal laser fusion He determinations and the U‐Th isotope dilution (ID) method. The (U‐Th)/He ages are consistent, homogeneous and systematically slightly younger than the preferred ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U age of 4.4 ± 0.1 Ma (95% confidence interval) determined by ID‐TIMS and subsequently published U‐Pb results. The U‐Pb isotopic system in zircon has a high closure temperature of ~ 900 °C, and the preferred U‐Pb age may record both the time since eruption and the zircon residence time in the magma chamber. In contrast, the closure temperature of the zircon (U‐Th)/He system is ~ 190 °C and the zircon megacrysts were brought quickly to the surface by the host basaltic magma. Thus, the (U‐Th)/He age represents the timing of the eruption. Based on the unlimited quantity, large grain size, mostly weak broad zoning, rapid cooling and homogenous (U‐Th)/He ages, we consider the Penglai zircons suitable for use as a reference material in (U‐Th)/He isotope geochronology.     

海南石碌铁矿独居石的成因类型、化学定年及地质意义

海南石碌铁矿是我国最大的富赤铁矿矿床,同时伴生有钴、铜等多金属矿产。轴向北西-南东向的复式向斜是石碌铁、钴铜矿体的主要控矿构造,富铁矿和钴铜矿的形成与该褶皱变形及伴随的韧性剪切和高温塑性流动有着密切的关系。为获得该构造变形的年代学信息和证实构造变形对成矿物质的富集影响,本文开展了石碌铁矿近矿围岩—石碌群第六层透辉石透闪石岩中独居石的显微结构观察和电子探针化学Th-U-Pb定年(CHIME法)。显微结构观察发现独居石往往沿岩石面理定向分布,且具典型的球冠结构,表现为围绕独居石核部向外依次出现磷灰石、褐帘石、绿帘石同心环。电子探针分析结果表明这些独居石为Ce-La-Nd磷酸盐[(Ce,La,Nd,Th)PO4],具富钍独居石端元组分。ThO 2含量范围(0.78%~4.61%)、稀土特征以及独居石的产出特征均暗示了其为同构造变质成因。电子探针CHIME化学定年结果表明独居石的年龄变化范围为614~397Ma,并具有两个峰值年龄:即主峰值ca.455Ma和次峰值ca.564Ma。低的ThO 2(0.78%~1.65%),PbO(0.02%~0.04%)和CaO(0.50%~0.97%)含量,以及高的Th/U比值(23.06~53.11)暗示了构成ca.564Ma的独居石是早期剪切变形事件的产物。而在随后剪切变形过程中独居石在低角闪岩相变质条件下以及碱性变质流体诱导下发生了溶解-再沉淀,形成了具ca.455Ma年龄的补丁状成分区。该过程引起了U-Pb体系的局部重置,形成的独居石具有变化较大的ThO 2(0.92%~4.61%)、PbO(0.01%~0.08%)和CaO(0.28%~1.58%)含量范围以及Th/U值(24.83~52.86)。在剪切变形之后,早期变质成因的独居石在绿片岩相退变质作用过程中及富Ca、Fe、Si、Al流体参与的条件下,经不平衡反应形成了磷灰石-褐帘石-绿帘石球冠物,反应机制以独居石和球冠矿物间的元素扩散动力学为主。该反应暗示了REE、Y、Th等元素发生了迁移,并可能引起边部独居石的部分Pb丢失。结合华南的构造演化,年龄谱主峰值455Ma代表了与华南加里东造山运动有关的区域变质和动力变质作用事件年龄,是加里东运动在海南岛的响应;次峰值年龄564Ma对应着冈瓦纳泛非事件,暗示了华南在晚新元古代-早古生代与冈瓦纳大陆具有亲缘性,华南加里东运动引起陆内造山过程可能与冈瓦纳大陆的聚合碰撞事件有关。因此,晚新元古代-早古生代造山事件对海南岛构造演化历史具重要影响。此外,该构造运动使石碌群发生褶皱变形,伴随产生的变质流体使铁、钴铜成矿元素进一步活化和富集,对石碌铁、钴铜矿的富集有着重要影响。     

Proton microprobe for chemical dating of monazite

Although quantitative chemical analysis by proton microprobe has become an established technique, it has been rarely applied to problems in the earth sciences. The method, having lower detection limit (better than 10 ppm for U, Th and Pb) and higher spatial resolution than electron microprobe (typically 1 μm vs 3 μm), can be successfully used in geology. Here, we present a procedure for the chemical dating of monazite, (REE)PO₄, by proton microprobe. The procedure is compared with electron probe microanalysis technique (EPMA).     

Inherited or not inherited: Complexities in dating the atypical ‘cold’ Chopok granite (Nízke Tatry Mountains,Slovakia)

Zircon U-Pb SIMS dating combined with in-context (in thin section) monazite and xenotime U + Th-total Pb dating was used to clarify the Palaeozoic evolution of the ‘cold’ Chopok granite (Nízke Tatry Mountains, Slovakia). Four distinct zircon, monazite and xenotime age domains testify to a prolonged evolution from igneous formation to multi-stage metasomatism and hydrothermal overprinting. The geological interpretation of age patterns from ‘cold’ granites, expected to have low zircon saturation temperatures (<800 °C) and relatively high amounts of zircon inheritance, requires special care, especially for what concerns proper attribution of zircon inheritance and igneous growth ages. These issues can be resolved using zircon saturation temperatures (T_Zrn) as proxy for the amount of zircon inheritance in combination with the temperature differences between T_Zrn and the granite solidus. In this respect, the Chopok granite is an atypical ‘cold’ granite. Due to T_Zrn being substantially lower (ca. 80 °C ± 50 °C) than the granite solidus temperature, practically no zircon inheritance was found. The zircon age data indicates that the Chopok granite is a product of an Early Ordovician (475.8 ± 3.3 Ma) magmatic event, corresponding with the widespread Early Palaeozoic magmatism recorded throughout the European Variscan belt. This is further corroborated by phosphate mineral ages. The post-magmatic activity recorded in the U-Pb systematics of zircon and phosphates overgrowths can be related to the different phases of the evolution of the Variscan orogen: Early Carboniferous (ca. 352 Ma) metasomatism documents the main Variscan orogenic event, whereas the Permo-Triassic age (ca. 255 Ma) reflects thermo-tectonic activity associated with large-scale crustal extension, contemporaneous with the initial continental leading to the break-up of Pangea.     

Monazite trumps zircon: applying SHRIMP U–Pb geochronology to systematically evaluate emplacement ages of leucocratic,low-temperature granites in a complex Precambrian orogen

Although zircon is the most widely used geochronometer to determine the crystallisation ages of granites, it can be unreliable for low-temperature melts because they may not crystallise new zircon. For leucocratic granites U–Pb zircon dates, therefore, may reflect the ages of the source rocks rather than the igneous crystallisation age. In the Proterozoic Capricorn Orogen of Western Australia, leucocratic granites are associated with several pulses of intracontinental magmatism spanning ~800 million years. In several instances, SHRIMP U–Pb zircon dating of these leucocratic granites either yielded ages that were inconclusive (e.g., multiple concordant ages) or incompatible with other geochronological data. To overcome this we used SHRIMP U–Th–Pb monazite geochronology to obtain igneous crystallisation ages that are consistent with the geological and geochronological framework of the orogen. The U–Th–Pb monazite geochronology has resolved the time interval over which two granitic supersuites were emplaced; a Paleoproterozoic supersuite thought to span ~80 million years was emplaced in less than half that time (1688–1659 Ma) and a small Meso- to Neoproterozoic supersuite considered to have been intruded over ~70 million years was instead assembled over ~130 million years and outlasted associated regional metamorphism by ~100 million years. Both findings have consequences for the duration of associated orogenic events and any estimates for magma generation rates. The monazite geochronology has contributed to a more reliable tectonic history for a complex, long-lived orogen. Our results emphasise the benefit of monazite as a geochronometer for leucocratic granites derived by low-temperature crustal melting and are relevant to other orogens worldwide.     

Age and origin of gem corundum and zircon megacrysts from the Mercaderes–Rio Mayo area, South-west Colombia, South America

Potential sources for alluvial gem corundum and zircon from the Rio Mayo area, near Mercaderes, Colombia are reviewed, based on U–Pb dating of syngenetic and protogenetic mineral inclusions in corundum samples and on a zircon megacryst. Corundum recovered from the region (approx. 99% sapphire, 1% ruby) commonly shows growth banding, includes colour change stones and exhibits overlaps in colour ranges and inclusion characteristics. This suggests a contiguous genetic suite. The U–Pb dating used laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) techniques. Because of the young ages and low-U contents of the dated zircons, the acquired data required a special statistical treatment. The results from zircon, fluorapatite and allanite-(Ce) inclusions provide a corundum crystallization age of 8 to 11 Ma, in relation to northern Andean Miocene uplift and magmatism. The zircon megacryst gave a younger crystallization age of c. 0.6 Ma, unrelated to the corundum genesis. Geochemical parameters (trace element and O isotope ranges) for corundum samples suggest a metamorphic/metasomatic origin. The age data rules out corundum genesis during the Late Cretaceous ophiolitic generation, but leave open possible later metasomatic interactions with this substrate. The Cr/Ga and Ga/Mg ratios and O isotope range for the corundum fall within the known limits for metasomatic, desilicated felsic/ultramafic ‘plumasitic’ associations, suggesting a possible parental source. Allanite, extremely rare as an inclusion in corundum elsewhere, may prove a characteristic inclusion for Rio Mayo corundum.     

Dating pseudotachylyte of the Asuke Shear Zone using zircon fission-track and U–Pb methods

Zircon fission-track (FT) and U–Pb analyses were performed on zircon extracted from a pseudotachylyte zone and surrounding rocks of the Asuke Shear Zone (ASZ), Aichi Prefecture, Japan. The U–Pb ages of all four samples are  67–76 Ma, which is interpreted as the formation age of Ryoke granitic rocks along the ASZ. The mean zircon FT age of host rock is 73 ± 7 (2σ) Ma, suggesting a time of initial cooling through the zircon closure temperature. The pseudotachylyte zone however, yielded a zircon FT age of 53 ± 9 (2σ) Ma, statistically different from the age of the host rock. Zircon FTs showed reduced mean lengths and intermediate ages for samples adjacent to the pseudotachylyte zone. Coupled with the new zircon U–Pb ages and previous heat conduction modeling, the present FT data are best interpreted as reflecting paleothermal effects of the frictional heating of the fault. The age for the pseudotachylyte coincides with the change in direction of rotation of the Pacific plate from NW to N which can be considered to initialize the NNE–SSW trending sinistral–extensional ASZ before the Miocene clockwise rotation of SW Japan. The present study demonstrates that a history of fault motions in seismically active regions can be reconstructed by dating pseudotachylytes using zircon FT thermochronology.