Articles | Volume 6, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-6-1-2024
https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-6-1-2024
Research article
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09 Jan 2024
Research article | Highlight paper |  | 09 Jan 2024

Geochronological and geochemical effects of zircon chemical abrasion: insights from single-crystal stepwise dissolution experiments

Alyssa J. McKanna, Blair Schoene, and Dawid Szymanowski

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Cited articles

Anderson, A. J., Hodges, K. V., and van Soest, M. C.: Empirical constraints on the effects of radiation damage on helium diffusion in zircon, Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 218, 308–322, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2017.09.006, 2017. 
Anderson, A. J., van Soest, M. C., Hodges, K. V., and Hanchar, J. M.: Helium diffusion in zircon: Effects of anisotropy and radiation damage revealed by laser depth profiling, Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 274, 45–62, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2020.01.049, 2020. 
Barley, M. E. and Pickard, A. L.: An extensive, crustally-derived, 3325 to 3310 Ma silicic volcanoplutonic suite in the eastern Pilbara Craton: evidence from the Kelly Belt, McPhee Dome and Corunna Downs Batholith, Precambrian Res., 96, 41–62, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0301-9268(99)00003-0, 1999. 
Basler, L. C., Baughman, J. S., Fame, M. L., and Haproff, P. J.: Spatially variable syn- and post Alleghanian exhumation of the central Appalachian Mountains from zircon (U-Th)/He thermochronology, Geosphere, 17, 1151–1169, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES02368.1, 2021. 
Bell, E. A., Boehnke, P., and Harrison, T. M.: Recovering the primary geochemistry of Jack Hills zircons through quantitative estimates of chemical alteration, Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 191, 187–202, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2016.07.016, 2016. 
Editor
U-Pb dating of zircon is the most widely used method in geochronology. This paper provides key new insights into the causes and extents of Pb-loss in zircon and how to deal with it to derived geologically significant and meaningful ages from zircon, not just dates. The approach and quantified method presented in this paper is an important step forward towards improvement of U-Pb zircon ages.
Short summary
Acid leaching is used to remove radiation-damaged portions of zircon crystals prior to U–Pb dating to improve the accuracy of datasets. We test how the temperature and duration of acid leaching affect geochronological and geochemical outcomes. We build a framework that relates radiation damage, zircon solubility, and Pb loss.