Conventional (U-Th)/He thermochronology requires accurate calculation of mineral grain volume, often based on approximations to idealized geometries. However, there are many instances where knowingly altering the geometry by polishing grains for additional in situ data collection is desirable. This contribution provides a new method to calculate volume and other data for polished grains used in zircon (U-Th)/He thermochronology analysis using no-added-cost modifications of existing workflows.

StratoBayes is a novel Bayesian method for aligning stratigraphic data from multiple sites. It integrates diverse information, such as geochemical signals and radiometric dates, and provides robust age estimates with quantified uncertainty for all sites. We use StratoBayes to correlate lower Cambrian δ¹³C records from Morocco with an undated record from Siberia, and estimate the age of the world’s oldest trilobites.

Paired moderate- and high-precision U–Pb geochronology is used to explore sources of young bias in laser-ablation-based detrital zircon maximum depositional ages (MDAs). We redefine the reference value for MDA accuracy as the age of the youngest analyzed population and reframe MDA algorithm assessments around validity. This study highlights opportunities to refine MDA research and anticipates continued community efforts to further improve accuracy of laser ablation zircon geochronology.

Helium gas accumulates over time in minerals, but loss can occur depending on temperature. If partially retained, its loss can potentially be used for determining past surface temperatures. This study uses a model that accounts for complex gas loss to analyze helium retention in two minerals commonly found on the surface of Antarctica. We find one of the minerals retains helium, while the other loses nearly all of the gas within 100 years, making it unsuitable as a climate reconstruction.

We evaluate different methods for the potassium (K) concentration determination in feldspars and the impact of the K concentrations on dose rate calculations for feldspar luminescence dating. Our results show discrepancies between published K concentrations and our measured K concentrations. Therefore, we emphasize measuring K concentrations via bulk measurements and single-grain techniques to obtain more accurate results.

U–Pb dating of cave sediments has provided important new time constraints on the evolution of cave-dwelling organisms (including early humans) and of Earth's climate during the past 5 Myr. This paper shows that the most common type of U–Pb dating, which uses ²³⁸U and ²⁰⁶Pb, can be inaccurate beyond ca. 2 Myr ago. It proposes an alternative type of U–Pb dating, using ²³⁵U and ²⁰⁷Pb, as a more accurate alternative.

This technical note develops and demonstrates an improvement in how to calculate the temperatures experienced by rocks as they come from deep in the Earth to the surface due to erosion in mountainous regions that feature significant topographic relief. The solution is fast and flexible, and works even in areas where erosion rates have varied through time. The new method has been added to software used to interpret thermochronologic data to help discern the history of mountain ranges.

Age–depth models assign ages to sampling locations (e.g., in drill cores), making them crucial to the determined timing and pace of past changes. We present two methods to estimate age–depth models from sedimentological and stratigraphic information, resulting in richer and more empirically realistic age–depth models. As a use case, we (1)  determine the timing of the Frasnian–Famennian extinction and (2) examine the duration of the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), a potential deep-time analog for anthropogenic climate change.

We present the first community-wide evaluation of the reproducibility of U–Pb zircon geochronology by isotope dilution thermal ionisation mass spectrometry (ID-TIMS). Eleven labs analysed aliquots of the same, homogenised, pre-spiked solution of natural zircon, which removed geological bias inherent to using heterogeneous natural zircon grain populations. We discuss remaining sources of inter-lab bias and propose areas of improvement to analytical procedures.

We present an approach to dating of carbonates using isotopic maps. The maps are divided into squares called virtual spots. For each virtual spot, statistical values (mean, uncertainty) are used to determine the age. The user can modify the size and location of the virtual spots and select those that give the most robust age. This approach, applied to high-spatial-resolution images, makes it possible for the first time to obtain satisfactory ages on maps as small as 100 µm x 100 µm.

This article presents a new method to date geological events affecting sedimentary rocks. This method relies on the potential for the zircon U-Pb system to be disturbed during fluid-flow, alteration, and metamorphic events in sedimentary rocks. This article presents synthetic datasets for benchmarking the accuracy and precision of the discordance dating method, as well as data from detrital zircons found in the contact metamorphic aureole surround the Alta stock.

We have built a database of (U-Th)/He ages and U and Th contents of goethites from various weathering environments. The database contains 2609 (U-Th)/He ages of goethites from 10 countries. The findings presented in this article contribute insights into the distribution of dated goethites from different environments globally and into the Earth's Cenozoic weathering history.

The uranium–thorium (U–Th) and uranium–lead (U–Pb) radiometric dating methods are both suitable for dating carbonate samples ranging in age from about 400 000 to 650 000 years. Here we test agreement between the two methods by dating speleothems (i.e. secondary cave mineral deposits) that are well-suited to both methods. We demonstrate excellent agreement between them and discuss their relative strengths and weaknesses.

We tested the reliability of infrared radiofluorescence (IR-RF) dating of K-feldspar on samples of known age. We compare several measurement protocols and analysis variants and determine the most appropriate version. Additionally, we compare these results with those obtained using infrared photoluminescence (IRPL), an alternative dating method for K-feldspar, for the same samples. Our results confirm the dating potential of IR-RF and highlight similarities and differences to other methods.

Garnet U–Pb dating is useful for dating geologic events. However, contamination by U-rich minerals included in garnet is a risk. Inclusions are often spotted by high-U spikes or large errors in the age. We dated garnets in metamorphic rocks and calculated ages 10–15 Myr older than expected, reflecting contamination by the mineral zircon. We provide recommendations for identifying contamination and suggest that the bulk dating of zircon inclusions in garnet may also provide valuable information.

Laser-based dating of rocks and minerals is invaluable in geoscience. This study significantly advances our ability to model and correct for a process called down-hole fractionation (DHF) that impacts the accuracy and uncertainty of dates. We develop an algorithm that quantitatively models DHF patterns but can be used on other geoscientific data. The implications are far-reaching: improved accuracy, reduced uncertainty, and easier comparisons between different samples and laboratories.

We used step heating to separate cosmogenic ³He from mantle ³He in olivine xenocrysts in which the mantle helium component is in high concentration after sample powdering. By isolating the matrix-sited cosmogenic ³He at low temperature, we were able to date four different lava flows on Volcano Mountain, the youngest eruptive center in the Fort Selkirk volcanic province in Yukon, Canada.  The four flows, including the stratigraphically youngest on the mountain, erupted coevally, at 10.5 ± 1.7 ka.

This paper describes measurements of cosmogenic neon-21 concentrations in a widely distributed mineral standard material that is routinely used for quality control and interlaboratory comparison for measurements of other cosmic-ray-produced nuclides useful for various geochronology applications. Broadly, this facilitates improvement of precision and accuracy of these measurements and their applications in geochronology.