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Zircon fission‐track and U–Pb double dating using femtosecond laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry: A technical note
Author(s) -
Iwano Hideki,
Danhara Tohru,
Danhara Yugo,
Hirabayashi Saori,
Nakajima Toru,
Sakai Harutaka,
Hirata Takafumi
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
island arc
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.554
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1440-1738
pISSN - 1038-4871
DOI - 10.1111/iar.12348
Subject(s) - zircon , fission track dating , analytical chemistry (journal) , geology , laser ablation , mineralogy , inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry , calibration , inductively coupled plasma , laser , mass spectrometry , plasma , nuclear physics , optics , chemistry , geochemistry , physics , statistics , chromatography , mathematics
We present a new LA–ICP–MS system for zircon fission‐track (FT) and U–Pb double dating, whereby a femtosecond laser combined with galvanometric optics simultaneously ablates multiple spots to measure average surface U contents. The U contents of zircon measured by LA–ICP–MS and standardized with the NIST SRM610 glass are comparable to those measured by the induced FT method, and have smaller analytical errors. LA–ICP–MS FT dating of seven zircon samples including three IUGS age standards is as accurate as the external detector method, but can give a higher‐precision age depending on the counting statistics of the U content measurement. Double dating of the IUGS age standards gives FT and U–Pb ages that are in agreement. A chip of the Nancy 91500 zircon has a homogeneous U content of 84 ppm, suggesting the possibility of using this zircon as a matrix‐matched U‐standard for FT dating. When using the Nancy 91500 zircon as a U‐standard, a zeta calibration value of 42–43 year cm 2 for LA–ICP–MS FT dating is obtained. While this value is strictly valid only for the particular session, it can serve as a reference for other studies.