Articles | Volume 3, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-3-433-2021
https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-3-433-2021
Research article
 | 
23 Aug 2021
Research article |  | 23 Aug 2021

Confined fission-track revelation in apatite: how it works and why it matters

Richard A. Ketcham and Murat T. Tamer

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Cited articles

Aslanian, C., Jonckheere, R., Wauschkuhn, B., and Ratschbacher, L.: A quantitative description of fission-track etching in apatite, Am. Mineral., 106, 518–526, https://doi.org/10.2138/am-2021-7614, 2021. 
Barbarand, J., Carter, A., Wood, I., and Hurford, A. J.: Compositional and structural control of fission-track annealing in apatite, Chem. Geol., 198, 107–137, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0009-2541(02)00424-2, 2003. 
Burtner, R. L., Nigrini, A., and Donelick, R. A.: Thermochronology of lower Cretaceous source rocks in the Idaho-Wyoming thrust belt, Am. Assoc. Petrol. Geol. Bull., 78, 1613–1636, 1994. 
Carlson, W. D., Donelick, R. A., and Ketcham, R. A.: Variability of apatite fission-track annealing kinetics I: Experimental results, Am. Mineral., 84, 1213–1223, https://doi.org/10.2138/am-1999-0901, 1999. 
Dakowski, M.: Length distributions of fission tracks in thick crystals, Nucl. Tracks, 2, 181–189, https://doi.org/10.1016/0145-224X(78)90022-4, 1978. 
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Short summary
We introduce a new model of how etching reveals damage tracks left by fissioning atoms, which accounts for variable along-track etching rates. This complete characterization explains many observations, including community difficulty in obtaining consistent track length measurements. It also provides a quantitative basis for optimizing etching procedures, discerning more about how radiation damage anneals, and ultimately deriving more reproducible fission-track ages and thermal histories.