Rutile R632 – A New Natural Reference Material for U‐Pb and Zr Determination

Abstract

A new natural rutile reference material is presented, suitable for U‐Pb dating and Zr‐in‐rutile thermometry by microbeam methods. U‐Pb dating of rutile R632 using laser ablation ICP‐MS with both magnetic sector field and quadrupole instruments as well as isotope dilution‐thermal ionisation mass spectrometry yielded a concordia age of 496 ± 2 Ma. The high U content (> 300 μg g−1) enabled measurement of high‐precision U‐Pb ages despite its young age. The sample was found to have a Zr content of 4294 ± 196 μg g−1, which makes it an excellent complementary reference material for Zr‐in‐rutile thermometry. Individual rutile grains have homogeneous compositions of a number of other trace elements including V, Cr, Fe, Nb, Mo, Sn, Sb, Hf, Ta and W. This newly characterised material significantly expands the range of available rutile reference materials relevant for age and temperature determinations.

Geostandards and Geoanalytical Research Bibliographic Review 2018

“…(). A new natural rutile reference material R632 was presented, suitable for U‐Pb dating by microanalytical methods (Axelsson et al ).…”

Coupled Zircon-Rutile U-Pb Chronology: LA ICP-MS Dating, Geological Significance and Applications to Sediment Provenance in the Eastern Himalayan-Indo-Burman Region

“…Note the wide range in color exhibited by the grains, the uneven fracture and the high surface reflectivity (adamantine luster), which is typical of rutile, a consequence of the high refractive index of the mineral. (c) Reflected light optical microscopy image of polished R632 [41] rutile grains. (d) Rutile grains separated from Sugluk-4 granulite facies quartzite.…”

U–Th–Pb geochronology and simultaneous analysis of multiple isotope systems in geological samples by LA-MC-ICP-MS

“…138,139 The incorporation of Zr into rutile during formation is strongly temperature-dependent, so rutile can be potentially used for both geochronology and/or Zr-in-Rutile (ZiR) thermometry. 166 However, the typically low U content in rutile may limit its applicability to LASS, particularly for small grains.…”

“…For apatite, several LA-ICP-MS geochronology reference materials with a range of ages are widely available including Durango, 167 McClure Mountain, 168 Kovdor, Otter Lake and Slyudyanka, 45 MAD, 56 Among these materials, NW-1 apatite, extracted from a carbonatite collected from the Prairie Lake alkaline-carbonatite complex in Ontario, Canada, is probably the best characterized over a range of isotopic systems, and has the lowest common lead content (0.75 ppm, with a 204 Pb-based f 206 of 0. 166 reported that R632 has a relatively low common Pb content (<1%; f 206 % < 1%), a relatively high U content (>300 ppm) and a moderate U-Pb age of 496 AE 3 Ma. Furthermore, the homogeneous and high Zr content of R632 (4294 AE 196 ppm) makes it a suitable reference material for Zr-in-rutile thermometry.…”