Applications of Synchrotron X-rays to Geochronology

At Stony Brook we are lucky to be near Brookhaven National Lab which hosts the National Synchrotron Light Source II. Synchrotron X-rays are very bright and can be tuned for different applications. We have particularly focused on the distribution of uranium with other elements using XRF and the oxidation state of and location within minerals. These details help to better understand U-Pb dating of the minerals. We have applied this to carbonates and fluorite and several exciting results from our colleagues are in preparation for publication! Stay tuned.

U characterization paper

XRF tomography of apatites

It is well known that minerals are often zoned with respect to trace element substitutions. Apatite (Ca phosphate) is a well-used low- temperature thermochronometer using the U-Th/He system. Using XRF tomography at the 13ID-E beamline at the Advanced Photon Souce at Argonne National Lab, we show that by characterizing the zoning we can better model He diffusion in this system.

U tomography paper

Applications of Synchrotron X-rays to Geochronology

XRF tomography of apatites

FIRST at Stony Brook