Objective
Isotopic closure is typically considered to be governed by temperature controlled volume diffusion. However, theoretical considerations as well as experimental evidence suggest that fluid-induced metamorphic recrystallisation may be orders of magnitude more important than thermal diffusion in many if not most field settings. This simple concept may explain the irregular release spectra observed in many stepwise heating experiments. The proposed research will develop a radically new approach to argon geochronology, inspired by a technological breakthrough which occurred in U-Pb geochronology in the mid-1990s. At that time, it was found that the discordance of zircons suffering from common Pb or apparent Pb-loss is greatly reduced by stepwise dissolution in hydrofluoric acid. Acid etching may be equally effective at removing compositionally distinct zones in other minerals as well. In fact, several workers successfully removed excess argon from plagioclase and K-feldspar by partially dissolving them in acid during the 1980s. The proposed research will revisit and extend these earlier experiments. The idea is to subject several aliquots of a well-characterised mineral separate to different degrees of dissolution. Plotting the 40Ar/39Ar ages of these aliquots against their respective degrees of dissolution will yield an age spectrum just like those obtained by stepwise heating experiments. Alternatively, by measuring the Ar content in absolute abundance units and determining the K-content of the acid, an age spectrum can be obtained without the need for neutron irradiation. Thus, the stepwise dissolution technique has the potential to revive conventional K-Ar geochronology and solve the problems of excess argon and non-Arrhenian diffusion behaviour that have plagued the 40Ar/39Ar community for decades.
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: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences chemical sciences inorganic chemistry noble gases
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences geology geochronology
You need to log in or register to use this function
We are sorry... an unexpected error occurred during execution.
You need to be authenticated. Your session might have expired.
Thank you for your feedback. You will soon receive an email to confirm the submission. If you have selected to be notified about the reporting status, you will also be contacted when the reporting status will change.
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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.
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.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
ERC-2010-StG_20091028
See other projects for this call
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.
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.
Host institution
WC1E 6BT LONDON
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.