Skip to main content
Go to the home page of the European Commission (opens in new window)
English English
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS

Advancing Apatite Thermochronology: Novel analytical approaches for high eU apatites.

Objective

Low temperature thermochronometry (LTT) dating is a powerful tool in geoscience, used worldwide, to provide unique information on the thermal history of rocks. Using these insights geologists can achieve a better understanding of geological processes that have occurred over million year timescales even in settings where erosion has removed much of the geological record. Despite the success of these techniques in tackling geological problems, there still exists a major gap in our knowledge over the fundamental principles that underlie these dating systems. Much of this uncertainty stems from an incomplete understanding of inter and intra-crystal compositional variation and the influence this has on the kinetics of the dating system. Reaching a complete understanding of crustal thermal histories also remains a major challenge as the lowest temperature thermochronometers, apatite fission track (AFT) and apatite (U-Th)/He (AHe), are only sensitive over a temperature range of c. 120 – 40°C. The lower temperature limit of this range is also dependant on apatites having low degrees of radiation damage that can enhance retention of He within apatite. This project will advance AFT and AHe methodology by focusing on apatites enriched in U and Th from geological settings considered stable. The first goal is to obtain detailed REE compositional analysis using LA-ICP-MS to refine fission track annealing models and obtain high precision measurements of parent elements to improve AFT age data. The second goal is to ensure that the maximum amount of thermal history information is extract from the 4He concentration profile in the apatite crystal. This will be achieved by a combination of 4He/3He analysis and multi-single-grain AHe analysis of broken apatite crystals. By achieving these two goals the project will advance methodology, establish analytical capabilities at the host organisation and provide new insights into the thermal history of the crust at stable geological settings.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.

You need to log in or register to use this function

Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

MSCA-IF-EF-ST - Standard EF

See all projects funded under this funding scheme

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2015

See all projects funded under this call

Coordinator

UNIVERSITE DE RENNES I
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 173 076,00
Address
RUE DU THABOR 2
35065 RENNES CEDEX
France

See on map

Region
Bretagne Bretagne Ille-et-Vilaine
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 173 076,00
My booklet 0 0