Development of a Radiogenic Helium Dating Facility for Experimental Development of and Applications in (U-Th)/He Thermochronology

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

9909996ReinersThis grant provides partial support for the costs of establishing a (U-Th)/He dating facility at Washington State University. The PI, Peter Reiners, is a recent addition to the Department of Geology, having just completed a postdoctoral program in helium thermochronometry at Caltech. The primary functions of this facility will be to: 1) measure contents of radiogenic helium in minerals for applied thermochronologic studies of tectonic and geomorphologic processes, and 2) develop and establish new techniques and approaches of (U-Th)/He dating in order to expand the method to suit a wider variety of phases, closure temperatures, and geologic applications. The lab will consist of mineral preparation equipment, apparatus for diffusion experiments, a He extraction, purification, quadrupole mass-spectrometry vacuum line, and lab facilities for measurement of U and Th contents on the department's ICP-MS. The lab will provide thermochronologic capabilities to researchers throughout the Pacific northwest, including WSU, Central Washington University, the University of Washington, the University of Idaho, and a nearby commercial fission-track dating lab (Donelick Analytical). In addition to providing thermochronologic constraints to applied studies, this lab will also be focused on the experimental development of (U-Th)/He dating in a variety of minerals and systems, including economic ore systems.***