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Computational Tools for Low-Temperature Thermochronometer Interpretation

Department of Geological Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109-1005, U.S.A., tehlers@umich.edu

Chris W. Fuller and Sean D. Willett

Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, 98195, U.S.A.

Richard A. Ketcham

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

Mark T. Brandon

Department of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, 06520-8109, U.S.A.

David X. Belton, Barry P. Kohn and Andrew J.W. Gleadow

School of Earth Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia

Tibor J. Dunai

Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Frank Q. Fu

School of Geosciences, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia and CSIRO Exploration and Mining, PO Box 1130, Bentley, WA, Australia

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

	INTRODUCTION

 
This volume highlights several applications of thermochronology to different geologic settings, as well as modern techniques for modeling thermochronometer data. Geologic interpretations of thermochronometer data are greatly enhanced by quantitative analysis of the data (e.g., track length distributions, noble gas concentrations, etc.), and/or consideration of the thermal field samples cooled through. Unfortunately, the computational tools required for a rigorous analysis and interpretation of the data are often developed and used by individual labs, but rarely distributed to the general public. One reason for this is the lack of a good medium to communicate recent software developments, and/or incomplete documentation and development of user-friendly codes worth distributing outside individual labs. The purpose of this chapter is to highlight several user-friendly computer programs that aid in the simulation and interpretation of thermochronometer data and crustal thermal fields. Most of the software presented here is suitable for both teaching and research purposes.

Table 1 summarizes the different programs discussed in this chapter, the contributing authors behind each program¹, the computer operating system each program runs on, and the application or purpose each program is intended for simulating. The intent of this chapter is not to provide a user manual for each program, but rather an introduction to concepts and physical processes each program simulates. All software discussed here is freely available for non-profit applications and can be downloaded from http://www.minsocam.org/MSA/RIM/ under the link for Volume 58, Low-Temperature Thermochronology. This web page contains executable versions of the software, copyright information, example input and output data files, and, in some cases, additional documentation and user manuals. The availability of source code for modifying each program varies, and interested persons are encouraged to contact the leading contributor. Regular users of these programs are encouraged to contact the software contributor to receive software updates and . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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