The dating method is usually performed on the mineral zircon.
How are C-14 and U-238 dating used together in order to determine fossil ages?
The mineral incorporates uranium and thorium atoms into its crystal structure , but strongly rejects lead. Therefore, one can assume that the entire lead content of the zircon is radiogenic , i. Thus the current ratio of lead to uranium in the mineral can be used to determine its age.
The method relies on two separate decay chains , the uranium series from U to Pb, with a half-life of 4.
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The above uranium to lead decay routes occur via a series of alpha and beta decays, in which U with daughter nuclides undergo total eight alpha and six beta decays whereas U with daughters only experience seven alpha and four beta decays. The existence of two 'parallel' uranium—lead decay routes U to Pb and U to Pb leads to multiple dating techniques within the overall U—Pb system. The term U—Pb dating normally implies the coupled use of both decay schemes in the 'concordia diagram' see below. However, use of a single decay scheme usually U to Pb leads to the U—Pb isochron dating method, analogous to the rubidium—strontium dating method.
Finally, ages can also be determined from the U—Pb system by analysis of Pb isotope ratios alone. This is termed the lead—lead dating method. Clair Cameron Patterson , an American geochemist who pioneered studies of uranium—lead radiometric dating methods, is famous for having used it to obtain one of the earliest estimates of the age of the Earth. Although zircon ZrSiO 4 is most commonly used, other minerals such as monazite see: Where crystals such as zircon with uranium and thorium inclusions do not occur, a better, more inclusive, model of the data must be applied.
These types of minerals often produce lower precision ages than igneous and metamorphic minerals traditionally used for age dating, but are more common in the geologic record.
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During the alpha decay steps, the zircon crystal experiences radiation damage, associated with each alpha decay. This damage is most concentrated around the parent isotope U and Th , expelling the daughter isotope Pb from its original position in the zircon lattice. In areas with a high concentration of the parent isotope, damage to the crystal lattice is quite extensive, and will often interconnect to form a network of radiation damaged areas.
These fission tracks inevitably act as conduits deep within the crystal, thereby providing a method of transport to facilitate the leaching of lead isotopes from the zircon crystal.
Uranium–lead dating
Under conditions where no lead loss or gain from the outside environment has occurred, the age of the zircon can be calculated by assuming exponential decay of Uranium. These are said to yield concordant ages. Loss leakage of lead from the sample will result in a discrepancy in the ages determined by each decay scheme. This effect is referred to as discordance and is demonstrated in Figure 1.
Navbharat Times
If a series of zircon samples has lost different amounts of lead, the samples generate a discordant line. The upper intercept of the concordia and the discordia line will reflect the original age of formation, while the lower intercept will reflect the age of the event that led to open system behavior and therefore the lead loss; although there has been some disagreement regarding the meaning of the lower intercept ages.
Zircon is very chemically inert and resistant to mechanical weathering—a mixed blessing for geochronologists, as zones or even whole crystals can survive melting of their parent rock with their original uranium-lead age intact. Zircon crystals with prolonged and complex histories can thus contain zones of dramatically different ages usually, with the oldest and youngest zones forming the core and rim, respectively, of the crystal , and thus are said to demonstrate inherited characteristics. You can make it easier for us to review and, hopefully, publish your contribution by keeping a few points in mind.
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