The edge of time: Dating young volcanic ash layers with the 40Ar- 39Ar laser probe
Science
By: Y. Chen, P. E. Smith, N.M. Evensen, D. York, and K. R. Lajoie
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Abstract
Argon-40-argon-39 single-crystal dating of young (5000 to 30,000 years ago) volcanic ash layers erupted from the Mono Craters, California, shows that the method can yield meaningful ages in Holocene tephra. Because of ubiquitous xenocrystic contamination, the data do not form isochrons but plot in wedge-shaped regions on an argon isotopic diagram. The upper boundary of the region is an isochron matching the 14C-derived age of the eruption. Such contamination-related patterns may be common in dating young materials by the single-crystal method. Argon dating by this method can help refine the time scale of physical and biological evolution over the past 100,000 years.
Suggested Citation
Chen, Y., Smith, P.E., Evensen, N., York, D., and Lajoie, K.R., 1996, The edge of time: Dating young volcanic ash layers with the 40Ar- 39Ar laser probe: Science, v. 274, no. 5290, p. 1176-1178, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.274.5290.1176.
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | The edge of time: Dating young volcanic ash layers with the 40Ar- 39Ar laser probe |
| Series title | Science |
| DOI | 10.1126/science.274.5290.1176 |
| Volume | 274 |
| Issue | 5290 |
| Year Published | 1996 |
| Language | English |
| Larger Work Type | Article |
| Larger Work Subtype | Journal Article |
| Larger Work Title | Science |
| First page | 1176 |
| Last page | 1178 |