Loss of 40Ar(rad) from leucite-bearing basanite at low temperature: implications on K/Ar dating.

The Bakony-Balaton Highland Volcanic Field (BBHVF) is located in the central part of Transdanubia, Pannonian Basin, with over 50 alkali basaltic volcanoes. The basanite plug of Hegyestu erupted in the first phase of volcanic activity. K/Ar and Ar/Ar ages were published for the BBHVF. K/Ar and Ar/Ar ages of the leucite-bearing basanite of Hegyestás were conflicting. This is caused by the special Ar retention feature of leucite in this basanite. K/Ar ages measured in the usual way were 25–45% younger, but after HCl treatment of the rock, or after reducing the baking temperature of the argon extraction line from 250°C to 150°C, they became similar to the Ar/Ar ages. All Ar/Ar determinations were performed after HF treatment. HCl treatment dissolved olivine, nepheline, leucite, magnetite and from 1-1 sample analcime or calcite. K dissolution studies from different locations of Hegyestü have shown that K content is mostly ≈2%, but it may decrease to ≈0.3%. HCl treatment dissolved 28.0–63.5% of the K content. The calculated K concentration for the dissolved part of samples with ~2%K was 4.02-6.42%: showing that leucite is responsible for the low temperature loss of ⁴⁰Ar(rad). Ar may release at low temperature from very finegrained mineral, or when the Ar release mechanism changes. A ⁴⁰Ar(rad) degassing spectrum has been recorded in the 55–295°C range of baking temperature and the data were plotted in the Arrhenius diagram. The diagram shows that a change of the structure in the 145–295°C range caused the loss of ⁴⁰Ar(rad). On fractions of HCl treated rock 7.56±0.17 Ma isochron K/Ar age has been determined. This is regarded as minimum age of eruption and it is similar to the Ar/Ar isochron age (7.78±0.07 Ma).     

激光显微探针~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar同位素定年

已有 5 0年历史的K Ar定年法 ,由于过剩Ar和Ar丢失的普遍发现 ,使其最广泛的应用面临着严重挑战。40 Ar/ 3 9Ar分步加热释氩法是常规K Ar定年法的发展 ,它克服了常规K Ar定年法的一些局限 ,又可以测定岩浆构造热事件。激光显微探针40 Ar/ 3 9Ar定年法是在 2 0世纪末把聚焦激光束应用在40 Ar/ 3 9Ar分步加热释氩法中而发展起来的一种定年方法。它既具有常规K Ar定年法和40Ar/ 3 9Ar分步加热释氩法的所有优越性 ,又把定年引入微观领域。特别是在 2 0世纪的最后几年 ,以激光显微探针40 Ar/ 3 9Ar定年方法的完善和精度的提高为标志 ,把K Ar年代学研究推向了一个新的里程碑。微区微量高精度高分辨定年 ,把定年时限扩展到人类历史范畴 ,精细的分析技术拓宽了年代学的应用范围 ,使之解决的地质问题更广泛和深入 ,并且开始冲击着地球科学中的某些热点和难点课题。     

柴北缘地区天然气40Ar/36Ar特征及其地质意义

测试并分析了柴北缘各油气田的14个天然气样品的氦、氩稀有气体同位素比值,并进行了气源对比。研究发现,柴北缘天然气40Ar/36Ar值分布在951～1712,平均1098,多数样品40Ar/36Ar较通常认为源于侏罗系的天然气40Ar/36Ar明显偏高,研究认为本区不存在幔源高40Ar/36Ar流体的介入,储层年代效应也不可能造成天然气40Ar/36Ar明显偏高,因此柴北缘天然气40Ar/36Ar明显偏高,主要是由于源岩年代积累效应引起的。据估算,气源岩年龄分布范围为164.7～460.8Ma,平均为345.1Ma,可能多数来源于石炭系。这一认识得到了柴北缘广泛分布有石炭系源岩和已发现源于石炭系原油的支持。柴北缘石炭系天然气的发现预示了柴北缘石炭系是一个新的油气勘探层系,从而拓展了柴北缘天然气勘探领域。     

K－Ar测年法在确定沉积岩成岩时代中的应用——以鄂尔多斯盆地为例

根据伊利石Ｋ－Ａｒ测年法研究，确定鄂尔多斯盆地存在两期与构造运动有关的成岩作用事件：即与早期燕山运动有关的侏罗纪（１７０—１６０Ｍａ）和与晚期加里东运动有关的志留－泥盆纪（４２０－３７０Ｍａ）成岩作用时代。为了揭示碎屑物质对Ｋ－Ａｒ年龄的影响和伊利石成岩作用的机制，本文提出了一个通过观察Ｋ－Ａｒ年龄随深度变化的趋势来进行判断的模式。在Ｋ－Ａｒ年龄小于地层时代的条件下，Ｋ－Ａｒ年龄与深度呈正相关，或者很相近的Ｋ－Ａｒ年龄与深度变化无关均标志着没有或很少有碎屑物质的影响；同时，前者指示逐渐埋藏条件下的成岩作用，而后者则反映短暂的热事件引起的成岩作用事件。     

自生伊利石40Ar/39Ar法定年技术及气藏成藏期的确定

为了确定天然气藏的成藏期,进行了自生伊利石的^40Ar／^39Ar法同位素定年实验．实验重点解决了自生伊利石的^40Ar／^39Ar法定年的几个技术难题：第一,粘土矿物的提纯,避免伊利石以外的含K矿物混入;第二,自生伊利石与碎屑伊利石的分离;第三,克服核反冲造成的Ar原子丢失．利用冷冻一加热循环碎样技术获得高纯度的粘土矿物;通过阶段加热得到的年龄谱可以区分自生伊利石与碎屑伊利石;利用“显微包裹”技术有效克服了核照射反冲问题．对鄂尔多斯盆地北部苏里格气田研究发现。二叠系储层中的伊利石有2种年龄图谱：一种只有自生伊利石的坪年龄;另一种图谱既有自生伊利石的坪年龄,也有碎屑伊利石的年龄,形成二阶式的图谱．通过自生伊利石的形成时间推断,天然气的最早充注时间晚于169～189Ma．实验的结果表明,冷冻加热循环碎样技术可以有效地避免伊利石以外的含K矿物混入．是获得高纯度粘土矿物的关键技术;自生伊利石^40Ar／^39Ar法定年技术可以用于确定天然气藏的成藏期.     

Comparison of Conventional K–Ar and Ar/Ar Dating of Young Mafic Volcanic Rocks

K–Ar and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages have been measured on nine mafic volcanic rocks younger than 1 myr from the Snake River Plain (Idaho), Mount Adams (Washington), and Crater Lake (Oregon). The K–Ar ages were calculated from Ar measurements made by isotope dilution and K₂O measurements by flame photometry. The ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages are incremental-heating experiments using a low-blank resistance-heated furnace. The results indicate that high-quality ages can be measured on young, mafic volcanic rocks using either the K–Ar or the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar technique. The precision of an ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar plateau age generally is better than the precision of a K–Ar age because the plateau age is calculated by pooling the ages of several gas increments. The precision of a plateau age generally is better than the precision of an isotope correlation (isochron) age for the same sample. For one sample the intercept of the isochron yielded an ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar value significantly different from the atmospheric value of 295.5. Recalculation of increment ages using the isochron intercept for the composition of nonradiogenic Ar in the sample resulted in much better agreement of ages for this sample. The results of this study also indicate that, given suitable material and modern equipment, precise K–Ar and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages can be measured on volcanic rocks as young as the latest Pleistocene, and perhaps even the Holocene.     

阿尔泰地区中、新生代岩浆活动的同位素年龄证据

长期以来，对阿尔泰地区有无印支、燕山期岩浆活动一直存在争议。本研究得到以下年龄结果：将军山花岗岩（＾４０Ａｒ／＾３９Ａｒ坪年龄）２２０Ｍａ、康布铁堡花岗岩（＾４０Ａｒ／＾３９Ａｒ高温视年龄）２１４Ｍａ、尚可兰花岗岩（Ｒｂ－Ｓｒ全岩等时线年龄）１７６Ｍａ、阿拉尔花岗岩（＾４０Ａｒ／＾３９Ａｒ坪年龄）１３１Ｍａ。以上数据和与本区处在同一构造单元的前苏联矿区阿尔泰及山区阿尔泰１２个浅色花岗岩锆石Ｕ－Ｐｂ     

40Ar(40Ar＊＋40ArE)、39Ar释气特征与过剩氩的甄别及年代学意义

对具有不同地质历史背景的3类⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar法样品中的⁴⁰Ar和³⁹Ar释出特征进行对比,研究结果表明,⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar法样品中的⁴⁰Ar、³⁹Ar释气曲线主要表现为以下3种形式:完全重合型、过剩氩型和不规则型。当⁴⁰Ar与³⁹Ar释气曲线呈完全重合型时,⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar法全熔年龄代表了岩体的形成年龄;当⁴⁰Ar、³⁹Ar释气曲线是过剩氩型时,⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar法全熔年龄则大于岩体的形成年龄;当⁴⁰Ar与³⁹Ar释气曲线呈不规则型时,表明样品中的放射成固氩(⁴⁰Ar^*)发生了丢失,其全熔年龄一般较岩体的形成年龄小。对于⁴⁰Ar、³⁹Ar释气曲线呈过剩氩型的样品,⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar法年龄谱通常呈马鞍形,且马鞍形年龄谱的底部年龄一般都具有地质意义,代表了岩体的形成年龄。对于⁴⁰Ar、³⁹Ar释气曲线呈不规则型的样品,对其年龄谱的解释应持谨慎态度。     

吉林陨石原始捕获的40Ar/36Ar比值及其地质意义

地球大气圈中⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar的现代比值被公认为295.5,在利用K-Ar法测定地球物质年龄时,它是校正大气氩混染量的重要参数。陨石中原始捕获(trapped)的(⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar)_t比值是否和地球大气圈中氩同位素丰度相一致,这个问题不但在地质年龄测定中具有现实意义,而且对探索太阳系的形成和演化也有重要理论价值。近十几年,随着质谱分析技术的提高以及登月计划的实施,国外出现了一批有关月岩中氩同位素原始组分的资料,但至今对陨石中原始氩同位素丰度的报道很少。笔者采用⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar快中子活化技术和约克方程^[3,4],对吉林陨石雨2号标本进行了原始捕获的(⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar)_t比值进行了测定,并探讨了它的地质意义。     

Effects of shock pressure on 40Ar -39Ar radiometric age determinations

The relation of shock to the drop in the ⁴⁰¹Ar/³⁹¹Ar ratio seen at high release temperatures in some neutron-irradiated lunar samples is investigated through measurements of the ⁴⁰¹Ar/³⁹¹Ar ratio in gas samples released by stepwise heating of rock samples previously subjected to shock, either in the laboratory or in nature.Explosives were used to shock solid pieces and powder of a basalt from a diabase dike in Liberia to calculated pressures of 65, 150 and 270 kbar. These, an unshocked sample of the powder, two naturally shocked samples from the Brent impact crater in Canada, one unshocked sample from near the crater, and appropriate monitors were irradiated. Ar from stepwise heating was analyzed.The unshocked basalt shows a good ⁴⁰¹Ar/³⁹¹Ar plateau at age 198 ± 9 m.y. in agreement with a previous result of 186 ± 2 m.y. The shocked samples contain varying amounts of implanted atmospheric Ar, the isotopes of which have experienced mass fractionation. This effect is small enough in four samples so that the linearity of their graphs of ³⁹¹Ar/⁴⁰Ar vs ³⁶Ar/⁴⁰Ar is evidence of a plateau. The ages of these samples are then 201 ± 10, 205 ± 11, 205 ± 12 and 201 ± 9 m.y. It appears that the shock has had little effect on the ⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar age spectrum, although the release patterns of the ³⁹¹Ar are shifted downward by the order of 200°C. Shock implantation of Ar was at lower shock pressure, in the presence of less Ar, and into a less porous material than previously demonstrated.The Brent Crater samples do not all show good plateaus, but do indicate an age of ~420 m.y. for the crater event and 795 ± 24 m.y. for the rock formation, in agreement with previous results.None of the ⁴⁰¹Ar/³⁹¹Ar profiles shows a drop at high temperature, but a possible role of shock implantation of Ar is indicated in the production of this effect. Further experiments are suggested.     

福建紫金山矿田深部似斑状花岗闪长岩锆石SHRIMP U-Pb和单矿物~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar年龄及其地质意义

通过对福建紫金山矿田深部与成矿作用有关的主期似斑状花岗闪长岩3组锆石SHRIMP U-Pb和2组角闪石、钾长石~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar测年,获得锆石~(206)Pb/~(238()U加权平均年龄为101.8±1.5 Ma(n=34,MSWD=1.0),代表紫金山矿田深部与成矿作用有关的主期似斑状花岗闪长岩的成岩年龄;同时获得角闪石~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar冷却年龄为100±11 Ma、102.2 Ma,钾长石的~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar冷却年龄为96.3±1.7 Ma、98.5 Ma。依据矿物封闭温度理论,估算紫金山矿田深部与成矿作用有关的主期似斑状花岗闪长岩由锆石结晶至角闪石40Ar/39Ar体系封闭、再到钾长石~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar体系封闭的岩石冷却速率分别是40.7~67.1℃/Ma、116.9~216.3℃/Ma,显示岩石的冷却速率较大;由古地温梯度推算主期似斑状花岗闪长岩结晶(101.8±1.5 Ma)至钾长石~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar体系封闭(96.3±1.7 Ma)期间岩体隆升剥露了约3 km,暗示地壳在这一时期发生了快速隆升剥蚀作用。紫金山矿田深部似斑状花岗闪长岩锆石206Pb/238U年龄佐证了紫金山矿田深部存在一个大岩基,并约束了紫金山矿田斑岩型矿床的成矿时代,单矿物的~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar年龄为矿区的隆升剥露研究提供新资料。     

Combined U-Th/He and Ar/Ar geochronology of post-shield lavas from the Mauna Kea and Kohala volcanoes, Hawaii

Late Quaternary, post-shield lavas from the Mauna Kea and Kohala volcanoes on the Big Island of Hawaii have been dated using the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar and U-Th/He methods. The objective of the study is to compare the recently demonstrated U-Th/He age method, which uses basaltic olivine phenocrysts, with ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages measured on groundmass from the same samples. As a corollary, the age data also increase the precision of the chronology of volcanism on the Big Island. For the U-Th/He ages, U, Th and He concentrations and isotopes were measured to account for U-series disequilibrium and initial He. Single analyses U-Th/He ages for Hamakua lavas from Mauna Kea are 87 ± 40 to 119 ± 23 ka (2σ uncertainties), which are in general equal to or younger than ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages. Basalt from the Polulu sequence on Kohala gives a U-Th/He age of 354 ± 54 ka and a ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age of 450 ± 40 ka. All of the U-Th/He ages, and all but one spurious ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages conform to the previously proposed stratigraphy and published ¹⁴C and K-Ar ages. The ages also compare favorably to U-Th whole rock-olivine ages calculated from ²³⁸U-²³⁰Th disequilibria. The U-Th/He and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar results agree best where there is a relatively large amount of radiogenic ⁴⁰Ar (>10%), and where the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar intercept calculated from the Ar isochron diagram is close to the atmospheric value. In two cases, it is not clear why U-Th/He and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages do not agree within uncertainty. U-Th/He and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar results diverge the most on a low-K transitional tholeiitic basalt with abundant olivine. For the most alkalic basalts with negligible olivine phenocrysts, U-Th/He ages were unattainable while ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar results provide good precision even on ages as low as 19 ± 4 ka. Hence, the strengths and weaknesses of the U-Th/He and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar methods are complimentary for basalts with ages of order 100-500 ka.     

Evaluation of 40Ar/39Ar Geochronology of Authigenic Illites in Determining Hydrocarbon Charge Timing: A Case Study from the Silurian Bituminous Sandstone Reservoirs,Tarim Basin,China

The Silurian bituminous sandstones(SBS) in the Tarim Basin, China are important basinwide reservoirs with an estimated area of approximately 249000 km2. We investigated the ages of authigenic illites in the SBS reservoirs and constrained their formation timing by using the ~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar step wise heating method. The age spectra, ~(39)Ar recoil loss and their controlling factors were investigated systematically. The ~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar ages were compared with the conventional K/Ar ages of identical clay fractions. The clay in the SBS reservoirs is dominated by orderly mixed-layer illite/smectite(I/S) with 5%–30% smectite layers. The I/S minerals morphology comprises primarily honeycomb, short filamentous and curved-lath particles, characteristic of authigenic illites. The unencapsulated ~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar total gas ages(UTGA) of the authigenic illites range from 188.56 ± 6.20 Ma to 491.86 ± 27.68 Ma, which are 7% to 103% older than the corresponding K/Ar ages of 124.87 ± 1.11 Ma to 383.45 ± 2.80 Ma, respectively. The K-Ar ages indicate multistage accumulations with distinct distribution patterns in the Tarim Basin: older(late Caledonian-early Hercynian) around the basin margin, younger(late Hercynian) in the basin centre, and the youngest(middle to late Yanshanian) in the Ha-6 well-block, central area of the North Uplift. The age difference is believed to have been caused by the ~(39)Ar recoil loss during the irradiation process. Compared with the K/Ar ages, the estimated ~(39)Ar recoil losses in this study are in the range from 7% to 51%. The ~(39)Ar recoil loss appears to increase not only with the decreasing particle sizes of the I/S, but also with increasing percentage of smectite layers(IR) of the I/S, and smectite layer content(SLC) of the samples. We conclude that due to significant ~(39)Ar recoil losses, UTGA may not offer any meaningful geological ages of the authigenic illite formation in the SBS and thus can not be used to represent the hydrocarbon charge timing. ~(39)Ar recoil losses during ~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar dating can not be neglected when dating fine authigenic illite, especially when the ordered mixed-layer I/S containing small amount of smectite layers(IR30%) in the reservoir formations. Compared with the unencapsulated Ar-Ar method, the conventional K-Ar method is less complicated, more accurate and reliable in dating authigenic illites in petroleum reservoirs.     

应用40Ar—39Ar定年技术研究某些火山岩及陨石样品的受热历史

常规的K-Ar法是基于⁴⁰K通过K-层电子捕获衰变成⁴⁰Ar^*这一机理,应用衰变定律而定年的。它具有测定对象广、测定年龄范围大等优点,是同位素地质定年的主要方法之一。但是,由于⁴⁰Ar^*是气体,当岩石、矿物形成以后受到搅动时(如岩浆的侵入、构造活动、宇宙物质的冲击等),⁴⁰Ar^*容易丢失,使年龄值偏低。1962年由Sigurgeirsson提出的,后经Merrihue、Turner等人逐步完善的⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar快中子活化定年技术,很好地克服了K-Ar法的局限性。⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar定年分为两种:一是全熔融法(total fusion),样品被快中子照射后一次加热熔融,然后计算年龄,此值与常规K-Ar法结果相当;另一种是阶段加热法(step-heating),被照射的样品从低温到高温被逐步加热,分别计算各温度阶段的⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar视年龄,并进而得到一条年龄谱和一个坪年龄(plateau age)。后一种方法对研究地质体是否受过热的挠动、岩石矿物的早期结晶年代、后期热挠动次数、热挠动年代、岩石矿物对氢的保存性、过剩氩的存在状态等具有独特作用,它开辟了同位素地质年代学的一个新领域。本文将着重介绍应用⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar阶段加热技术研究地球物质及陨石受热历史的某些成果。     

40Ar/39Ar age spectra of some undisturbed terrestrial samples

⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age spectra and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar vs ³⁹Ar/³⁶Ar isochrons were determined by incremental heating for 11 terrestrial rocks and minerals whose geology indicates that they represent essentially undisturbed systems. The samples include muscovite, biotite, hornblende, sanidine, plagioclase, dacite, diabase and basalt and range in age from 40 to 1700 m.y. For each sample, the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ratios, corrected for atmospheric and neutron-generated argon isotopes, are the same for most of the gas fractions released and the age spectra, which show pronounced plateaus, thus are consistent with models previously proposed for undisturbed samples. Plateau ages and isochron ages calculated using plateau age fractions are concordant and appear to be meaningful estimates of the crystallization and cooling ages of these samples. Seemingly anomalous age spectrum points can be attributed entirely to small amounts of previously unrecognized argon loss and to gas fractions that contain too small (less than 2 per cent) a proportion of the ³⁹Ar released to be geologically significant. The use of a quantitative abscissa for age spectrum diagrams is recommended so that the size of each gas fraction is readily apparent. Increments containing less than about 4–5 per cent of the total ³⁹Ar released should be interpreted cautiously. Both the age spectrum and isochron methods of data reduction for incremental heating experiments are worthwhile, as each gives slightly different but complementary information about the sample from the same basic data. Use of a least-squares fit that allows for correlated errors is recommended for ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar vs ³⁹Ar/³⁶Ar isochrons. The results indicate that the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar incremental heating technique can be used to distinguish disturbed from undisturbed rock and mineral systems and will be a valuable geochronological tool in geologically complex terranes.     

Neoproterozoic-Paleozoic Tectonic Evolution of the Northeastern Tarim Block: Constraints from 40Ar/39Ar Geochronology in the Kuluketage Area, NW China

Seventeen new 40Ar/39Ar analyses reported for ten Tarim Precambrian basement samples from the Kuluketage area, are applied to reconstruct the regional thermo-tectonic history together with previously published data. Eight samples were taken adjacent to the Xingdi and Xinger faults, major structures in the study area, whereas a further two were sampled at some distance from the faults. 40Ar/39Ar data from the latter record rapid cooling following a Neoproterozoic magmatic/metamorphic event and mild Paleozoic thermal disturbance. Paleozoic 40Ar/39Ar ages from the study area, as well as from the Central Tianshan and eastern Southern Tianshan suggest two strong deformational periods at ~390 Ma and ~300 Ma. During the older period, argon isotopic systems were reset/disturbed by high temperature related to arc magmatism resulting from subduction of the South Tianshan paleo-oceanic crust, possibly in combination with reactivation of Precambrian faults. The younger period is characterized by widespread late Carboniferous-early Permian intracontinental deformation, which is related to the final amalgamation of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt. Previously published apatite fission track data attest to a long history of post-collisional cooling, which is attributed to continued propagation of deformation within the Central Asian Orogenic Belt.     

石英~(40)Ar-~(39)Ar阶段加热法定年的实验技术改进及意义

40 Ar 3 9Ar阶段加热法测定石英年龄始于 1986年。近年来通过样品清洗、提高真空度、提高质谱计灵敏度、减小样品用量、增加熔样阶段等实验技术改进 ,数据质量比过去有所提高。但关键问题是选择有代表性的石英样品 ,并预先对样品做镜下鉴定和电子探针分析 ,挑选钾含量较高的石英用于定年 ,以便减少失败 ,提高年龄数据测试的成功率。当钾含量高于 0 0 5 %时 ,一般都可在中温 (70 0～ 10 0 0℃左右 )阶段获得 3个以上视年龄构成的坪年龄和等时年龄 ,比过去马鞍型年龄谱中由一个最小视年龄作为成矿年龄要准确。     

In-situ UV-laser <Superscript>40</Superscript>Ar/<Superscript>39</Superscript>Ar geochronology of a micaceous mylonite : an example of defect-enhanced argon loss

Muscovite and biotite from a crustal-scale mylonite zone (Pogallo Shear Zone, southern Alps) were investigated using furnace step-heating and in-situ UV-laser ablation ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronology. Undeformed muscovite porphyroclasts yield ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar plateau ages of 182.0ǃ.6 Ma, whereas in-situ UV-laser ablation ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating and furnace step-heating of strongly deformed muscovite and biotite grains display a range of apparent ages that are systematically younger. The range of ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages measured in the deformed muscovite and biotite is consistent with protracted cooling through argon closure in minerals that exhibit variably developed segmentation on the intra-grain scale. These microstructurally controlled segments are bound by either first-order lattice discontinuities, sub-microscopic structural defects and/or zones of high defect density, which create variable length-scales for intragranular argon diffusion. The observed deformational microstructures within muscovite and biotite acted as intra-grain fast diffusion pathways in the slowly cooled mylonitic rocks. Therefore, the high-spatial resolution ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar data record the initial and final closure to argon diffusion over a time span of about 60 Ma.     

A redetermination of the isotopic abundances of atmospheric Ar

Atmospheric argon measured on a dynamically operated mass spectrometer with an ion source magnet, indicated systematically larger ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar ratios compared to the generally accepted value of Nier [Nier A.O., 1950. A redetermination of the relative abundances of the isotopes of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, argon, and potassium. Phys. Rev. 77, 789-793], 295.5 ± 0.5, which has served as the standard for all isotopic measurements in geochemistry and cosmochemistry. Gravimetrically prepared mixtures of highly enriched ³⁶Ar and ⁴⁰Ar were utilized to redetermine the isotopic abundances of atmospheric Ar, using a dynamically operated isotope ratio mass spectrometer with minor modifications and special gas handling techniques to avoid fractionation. A new ratio ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar = 298.56 ± 0.31 was obtained with a precision of 0.1%, approximately 1% higher than the previously accepted value. Combined with the ³⁸Ar/³⁶Ar (0.1885 ± 0.0003) measured with a VG5400 noble gas mass spectrometer in static operation, the percent abundances of ³⁶Ar, ³⁸Ar, and ⁴⁰Ar were determined to be 0.3336 ± 0.0004, 0.0629 ± 0.0001, and 99.6035 ± 0.0004, respectively. We calculate an atomic mass of Ar of 39.9478 ± 0.0002. Accurate Ar isotopic abundances are relevant in numerous applications, as the calibration of the mass spectrometer discrimination.     

西藏波龙斑岩铜金矿床钾长石和绢云母40Ar/39Ar年龄及其地质意义

西藏波龙斑岩铜金矿床是新近在青藏高原中部发现的规模最大的斑岩型矿床。文章对该矿床内的蚀变钾长石和蚀变绢云母进行了⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar年代学测试,获得蚀变钾长石的⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar坪年龄为(118.33±0.60) Ma,反等时线年龄为(118.49±0.74) Ma (初始⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar=286.1±8.4),表明波龙斑岩铜金矿床的钾化蚀变年龄为118~119 Ma;蚀变绢云母的⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar坪年龄为(121.61±0.67) Ma,反等时线年龄为(121.1±2.0) Ma (初始⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar=279±19)。由于蚀变绢云母测试样品内可能混入了斜长石,受其影响,蚀变绢云母测年结果的下限可能代表了该矿床绢英岩化蚀变年龄。这些蚀变钾长石和蚀变绢云母⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar测年结果与波龙矿床的成岩年龄值和成矿年龄值在误差范围内基本一致,表明该矿床的钾化和绢英岩化与成岩、成矿同期,该矿床的岩浆-热液活动过程的时限为121~118 Ma。