Lasing in the Holocene; extending the super 40 Ar- super 39 Ar laser probe method into the super 14 C age range.
Hu, Qiang; Smith, Patrick E; Evensen, Norman M; York, Derek (1994) Lasing in the Holocene; extending the super 40 Ar- super 39 Ar laser probe method into the super 14 C age range. Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 123; 1-4, Pages 331-336. 1994.
| Authors | Hu, Qiang; Smith, Patrick E; Evensen, Norman M; York, Derek |
|---|---|
| Year | 1994 |
| Title | Lasing in the Holocene; extending the super 40 Ar- super 39 Ar laser probe method into the super 14 C age range. |
| Source | Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 123; 1-4, Pages 331-336. 1994. |
| Publisher | Elsevier. Amsterdam, Netherlands. 1994. |
| Document type | Serial |
| ISSN | 0012-821X |
| GeoRef | 1994-037732 |
| Keywords | absolute-age; alkali-feldspar; Ar-Ar; C-14; calibration-; California-; carbon-; Cenozoic-; dates-; east-central-California; feldspar-group; framework-silicates; Holocene-; isochrons-; isotopes-; laser-methods; methods-; Mono-County-California; Mono-Craters; Pleistocene-; Quaternary-; radioactive-isotopes; sanidine-; silicates-; United-States; upper-Pleistocene |
| DOI | 10.1016/0012-821X(94)90277-1 |
Abstract
Dating methods applicable to the last 50,000 yr, such as super 14 C, require absolute calibrations, which are difficult to obtain over much of this interval. Extension of the super 40 Ar- super 39 Ar isochron technique to ages <50,000 yr would make this well-understood absolute dating method available for calibration of cosmic-ray-dependent methods and for dating of young materials not suitable for super 14 C dating. We have dated the Mono craters, California, at 12,560+ or -470 yr, using laser fusion to generate an isochron from 63 sanidine crystals from 5 sites. The near-atmospheric initial isotopic ratios and the agreement in ages from all sites suggest that no significant excess argon is present. It thus appears that, particularly with improved instrumentation and techniques currently under development, most of the super 14 C age range is accessible to super 40 Ar- super 39 Ar laser dating.