Argon Geochronology

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The Argon Facility of Australian National University

⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronology is a key geochronometer for many Earth Science disciplines for example timing eruptions, magmatism, fluid alteration, extinctions, impacts, orebodies and orogenies.

For tectonics and structural geologists ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronology is the only method that allows the direct dating of a rock fabric by examining common rock forming minerals such as white mica or K-feldspar. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronology is unique in that, it allows geospeedometry - the science that concerns rate and duration of geological processes.

The RSES argon facility is funded by AuScope and is associated with Australian Geochemistry Network (AGN). We undertake Ar/Ar analysis for research purposes, for students and for commercial research. Contact us for details.

Our Research

This is dominantly a research laboratory where researchers from many disciplines who need ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar analysis can either be in the laboratory or rely on us to do this part of the research.
We are involved in the research of scientists from the USA, Canada, UK, Indonesia, India, Greece, China, France, Germany, Papua New Guinea and Australia.

Our research includes:

• Geospeedometry - duration of processes and events
• Dating ductile movement zones (shear zones)
• Dating deformation
• Dating multiply deformed and metamorphosed regions
• Dating mineral growth events in complex sequences
• Dating fluid alteration zones
• Dating orebodies
• Dating eruptions, volcanics, igneous bodies
• Dating extinctions, impacts
• Dating tectonic sequences of orogeny
• Dating with Arrhenius Plots
• Modelling of tectonic histories (T/time)

Students

PhD, MSc and Honours students from Australia and overseas are welcome and regularly undertake their own research in our laboratory. 

Students can be fully trained in all aspects of ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar Geochronology and micro- structural analysis, or students can be only partially involved as is necessary or required.