Quick Search:    advanced search

GSW Home   GeoRef Home   My GSW Alerts   Contact GSW   About GSW   Journals List   Help

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Web of Science (22) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Donelick, R. A. Articles by Ketcham, R. A. Search for Related Content GeoRef GeoRef Citation

Apatite Fission-Track Analysis

Apatite to Zircon, Inc., 1075 Matson Road, Viola, Idaho 83872-9709, U.S.A., Department of Geological Sciences, University of Nevada-Reno, Reno, Nevada 89557-0138, U.S.A., donelick@apatite.com

Paul B. O’Sullivan

Apatite to Zircon, Inc., 1075 Matson Road, Viola, Idaho 83872-9709, U.S.A., Department of Geological Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho 83844-3022, U.S.A.

Richard A. Ketcham

Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin Austin, Texas, 78712-0254, U.S.A.

The first 20% of the full text of this article appears below.

	INTRODUCTION

 
Apatite fission-track (AFT) analysis has been widely used during the past 30+ years to constrain the low-temperature thermal histories of many igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks in a wide range of geological settings. Applicable geological settings include orogenic belts, rifted margins, faults, sedimentary basins, cratons, and mineral deposits. The types of geologic problems that can be addressed include the timing and rates of tectonic events, sedimentary basin evolution, the timing of hydrocarbon generation and ore mineralization, the absolute age of volcanic deposits, the effects of major climatic changes on the near-surface geothermal gradient, and long-term landscape evolution. Early work by Naeser (1967) and Wagner (1968, 1969) first established the basic procedures that enabled the fission-track dating method to be applied routinely to these geologic problems. Fleischer et al. (1975) summarized the early studies of the broader discipline of nuclear-track detection in different solid-state materials. More recent comprehensive overviews of fission-track applications have been provided by Naeser and McCulloh (1989), Wagner and Van den haute (1992), Gallagher et al. (1998), Van den haute and De Corte (1998), Dumitru (2000), and Gleadow et al. (2002).

Etched, natural fission tracks in several apatite grains are shown in Figure 1. Successful AFT analysis is limited by the following: 1) the availability of apatite from which useful AFT data can be obtained, often due to a lack of apatite of sufficient grain size and quality within available rock types, or, alternatively, the lack of available rock samples due to minimal outcrop exposure or other reasons, 2) economic considerations in terms of the time and money required to obtain sufficient AFT data, 3) the inherent limitations of AFT data to resolve geological thermal history information, often related to limited numbers of accumulated spontaneous fission tracks due to low . . . [Full Text of this Article]

This article has been cited by other articles:

				F. Lisker, B. Ventura, and U. A. Glasmacher Apatite thermochronology in modern geology Geological Society, London, Special Publications, January 1, 2009; 324(1): 1 - 23. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Mora, M. Parra, M. R. Strecker, E. R. Sobel, H. Hooghiemstra, V. Torres, and J. V. Jaramillo Climatic forcing of asymmetric orogenic evolution in the Eastern Cordillera of Colombia Geological Society of America Bulletin, July 1, 2008; 120(7-8): 930 - 949. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. Tagami and P. B. O'Sullivan Fundamentals of Fission-Track Thermochronology Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry, January 1, 2005; 58(1): 19 - 47. [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. Tagami Zircon Fission-Track Thermochronology and Applications to Fault Studies Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry, January 1, 2005; 58(1): 95 - 122. [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. F. Stockli Application of Low-Temperature Thermochronometry to Extensional Tectonic Settings Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry, January 1, 2005; 58(1): 411 - 448. [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. I. A. McInnes, N. J. Evans, F. Q. Fu, and S. Garwin Application of Thermochronology to Hydrothermal Ore Deposits Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry, January 1, 2005; 58(1): 467 - 498. [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. A. Armstrong Thermochronometers in Sedimentary Basins Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry, January 1, 2005; 58(1): 499 - 525. [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. P. Kohn, A. J.W. Gleadow, R. W. Brown, K. Gallagher, M. Lorencak, and W. P. Noble Visualizing Thermotectonic and Denudation Histories Using Apatite Fission Track Thermochronology Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry, January 1, 2005; 58(1): 527 - 565. [Full Text] [PDF]