Abstract:Fission
track
dating is a radiometric dating method in geology, based on the
spontaneous
fission of uranium nuclei in a crystal lattice. During a
spontaneous fission
event two highly energetic fission fragments are released,
which then create
nano-damage trails in a mineral crystal’s lattice. The
analysis of those tracks
enables us to unravel the thermal histories of rocks and the
evolution of our
Earth’s surface. This technique can also be applied for the
absolute dating of
fast cooled rocks, tectonic processes, investigation of
denudation histories,
landscape evolutions and basin analysis. To improve the
accuracy of this method
the fundamental processes involved in the formation of fission
tracks need to
be better understood, as there are still many “unknown”
factors regarding to
the first few nanoseconds after a spontaneous fission of the
uranium nucleus
took place. In this presentation we show a study of
artificially created
fission tracks in apatite, mica and zircon, which were
analysed by the means of
Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and an introduction in how this
technique is
applied in Earth Sciences.