RADIOMETRIC DATING C-14 K/Ar DATING WITH COSMOGENIC RADIONUCLIDES URANIUM SERIES… RUBIDIUM STRONTIUM… TRAPPED CHARGED DATING(AGE DETERMINATION USING RADIATION DAMAGE) TL/OSL ESR FISSION TRACK METHOD… Radiometric Dating uses continuous decay to measure time since rock formed only possible since late 1890’s -- radioactivity discovered in 1896
as minerals crystallize in magma;
They trap atoms of radioactive isotopes in their crystal structures
radioactive isotopes will decay immediately and continuously
as time passes, rock contains less parent and more daughter
most common radiometric dating systems •uranium-thorium-lead dating U-238, U-235, Th-232 each of these decays through a series of steps to Pb U-238 to Pb-206 half-life = 4.5 by U-235 to Pb-207 half-life = 713 my Th-232 to Pb-208 half-life = 14.1 my •potassium-argon dating …argon is a gas--may escape (ages too young--daughter missing) K-40 to Ar-40 half-life = 1.3 by •rubidium-strontium dating Rb-87 to Sr-87 half-life = 47 by
•radiocarbon dating 14C
14N 7 + 1n0 6 + 1H1
14C 6 14N 7 + - K/Ar Dating method The potassium-argon (K-Ar) isotopic dating method is especially useful for determining the age of lavas. Developed in the 1950s, it was important in developing plate tectonics and in calibrating the geologic time scale. Potassium-argon dating, method of determining the time of origin of rocks by measuring the ratio of radioactive argon to radioactive potassium in the rock. This dating method is based upon the decay of radioactive potassium- 40 to radioactive argon-40 in minerals and rocks
Potassium is the eighth most abundant element in earth’s crust and forms numerous minerals. It has three natural isotopes. K/Ar Dating method
The radioactive potassium-40 decays by two modes, by beta decay to 40Ca
and by electron capture to 40Ar. There is also a tiny fraction of the decay to 40Ar that occurs by positron emission. The calcium pathway is not often used
for dating since there is such an abundance of calcium-40 in minerals and it
is diffucult to determine the original values of calcium in the beginning, The calcium-potassium age method is seldom used, however, because of the great abundance of nonradiogenic calcium in minerals or rocks, which masks the presence of radiogenic calcium. but there are some special cases where it is useful. The decay constant for the decay to 40Ar is 5.81 x 10-11yr-1. K/Ar Dating method
After helium, argon is the second most abundant noble gas in the rocks and the minerals of the earth. Potassium is always tightly locked up in minerals whereas argon is not part of any minerals. Argon makes up 1 percent of the atmosphere. So assuming that no air gets into a mineral grain when it first forms, it has zero argon content. That is, a fresh mineral grain has its K-Ar "clock" set at zero. Potassium-Argon dating has the advantage that the argon is an inert gas that does not react chemically and would not be expected to be included in the solidification of a rock, so any found inside a rock is very likely the result of radioactive decay of potassium. Since the argon will escape if the rock is melted, the dates obtained are to the last molten time for the rock. Since potassium is a constituent of many common minerals and occurs with a tiny fraction of radioactive potassium-40, it finds wide application in the dating of mineral deposits. The feldspars are the most abundant minerals on the Earth, and potassium is a constituent of orthoclase, one common form of feldspar. K/Ar Dating method For a radioactive decay which produces a single final product, the decay time can be calculated from the amounts of the parent and daughter product by
where N0 and N are the initial and final numbers of the parent isotope, λ is the decay constant and T is the half- life. But the decay of potassium-40 has multiple pathways, and detailed information about each of these pathways is necessary if potassiun-argon decay is to be used as a clock. This information is typically expressed in terms of the decay constants. 40K Decay Constants
The measured amount of radiogenic 40Ar* in terms of the current measured amount of 40K can be expressed as Pathway Decay constant (10-10yr-1) λβ , decay to 40Ca 4.962 λEC , decay to 40Ar 0.581 λtotal = λβ + λEC 5.543 This can be solved for the time t
When the values for the decay constants in the table above are used, the expression for the radiometric age becomes
Here, it is useful to make use of the series representation of ln(x+1), which may be approximated by x if x<< 1:
Since the population of 40Ar* is usually quite small, the approximation of ln(x+1)≈x gives
1.When the radiometric clock was started, there was a negligible amount of 40Ar in the sample. 2.The rock or mineral has been a closed system since the starting time. 3.The closure of the system was rapid compared to the age being determined. * 40K is quantified with flame photometry or atomic absorption spectroscopy. * 40Ar is quantified with mass spectrometry. * 40Ar / 40K ratio is shown the age. K/Ar Dating method
Advantages
-Accurate dating method
-Useful for dating very old materials. It can date up to a few billion years old
Disadvantages: -Limited to dating volcanic rock (eg. The rock and not the artefact) -Human interaction can interfere with dating -Cannot date recent objects earlier than a 100000 years. -Mainly based on assumptions -Long process (1-2 weeks per sample) -Costly (Few hundred dollars per sample) References: 1.Absolute Age Determination / Mebus A.Geyh- Helmut Schleicher 2. http://hyperphysics.phy- astr.gsu.edu/hbase/Nuclear/KAr.html 3. Radiometric Dating / Dr.Roger C. Wiens (2002) 4.Science Based Dating in Archeology / Martin Jim Aitken (1990)
