This project investigates the causes of limitations to U/Pb dating of minerals by LA-ICP-MS, with the aim of enhancing laboratory practices and instrumentation parameters to lower systematic errors and improve precision. Zircon is the primary mineral investigated;  however, ongoing investigations for apatite, uraninite and monazite are currently underway.

A paper describing the application of time-of-flight mass-spectrometer to U/Pb dating is in the final stages of completion.

Throughout the year the focus was on identification of multiple populations of zircons of similar ages in igneous samples.

This project investigates the causes of limitations to U-Pb dating of minerals by LA-ICP-MS, with the aim of enhancing laboratory practices and instrumentation parameters to lower systematic errors and improve precision. Zircon is the primary mineral investigated; however, ongoing investigations for apatite, uraninite and monazite are currently underway.

A paper describing the effects of various analytical parameters on the accuracy and precision of U-Pb dating of zircon was published in the Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry.

Throughout the year the focus was on developing applications for U-Pb dating of ‘non-traditional’ minerals, such as epidote and calcite.

This project investigates the causes of limitations to U-PB dating of minerals by LA-ICP-MS, with the aim of enhancing laboratory practices and instrumentation parameters to lower systematic errors and improve precision. Zircon is the primary mineral investigated; however, ongoing investigations for apatite, uraninite and monazite are currently underway.

This year the main focus was on understanding the effects of various analytical parameters on the accuracy and precision of U-Pb dating of zircon. A paper summarising the outcomes will be published in the Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry early in 2018.

This project investigates the causes of limitations to Pb/U dating of minerals by LA-ICP-MS, with the aim of enhancing laboratory practices and instrumentation parameters to lower systematic errors and improve precision. Zircon is the primary mineral investigated, however ongoing investigations for apatite, uraninite, and monazite are currently underway.

This year the main focus was on:

• Development of new reference materials for monazite U-Pb and rutile dating.
• Investigation into the potential matrix effects during U-Pb dating of monazite and xenotime, and whether mineral specific reference materials are required for each.
• Measurements of titanite reference materials for U-Pb, which have demonstrated that the current method is accurate relative to the precision quoted.

In addition, a paper was published in the Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry on matrix effects in apatite U-Pb dating by LA-ICP-MS, which also characterised two new reference materials for U-Pb dating.

This project investigates the causes of limitations to Pb/U dating of minerals by LA-ICP-MS, with the aim of improving laboratory practices and instrumentation parameters to lower systematic errors and improve precision. Zircon is the primary mineral investigated, however ongoing investigations for apatite, uraninite, and monazite are currently underway.

This year, the main focus was on investigations into:

• The use of lower laser energy to decrease crater depth, element fractionation and matrix effects in the mineral zircon.
• The use of an optical profiler to improve accuracy by applying a correction to data based on precise crater depth measurements.
• Apatite matrix effects for Pb/U dating. Bulk digestion ID-MC-ICP-MS determination is used to understand the causes of matrix effects that are seen by LA-ICP-MS.
• The causes of ICP-MS U-Pb and Pb-Pb drift. Successfully resolving the causes has allowed for more reliable analyses over longer sessions, leading to common use of 24-hour long sessions.