Articles | Volume 6, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-6-697-2024
https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-6-697-2024
Research article
 | 
20 Dec 2024
Research article |  | 20 Dec 2024

Interpreting cooling dates and histories from laser ablation in situ (U–Th–Sm) ∕ He thermochronometry: a modelling perspective

Christoph Glotzbach and Todd A. Ehlers

Related authors

In situ apatite U-Pb, fission track and (U-Th) ∕ He triple dating using a simple embedding approach
Christoph Glotzbach, Alexander Neely, and Todd Alan Ehlers
Geochronology, 8, 567–588, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-8-567-2026,https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-8-567-2026, 2026
Short summary
Analytical and modelling strategies for thermal histories from in situ (U-Th-Sm) ∕ He data of single apatites
Ann-Kathrin Maier, Christoph Glotzbach, and Sarah Falkowski
Geochronology, 8, 165–189, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-8-165-2026,https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-8-165-2026, 2026
Short summary
Spatiotemporal denudation rates of the Swabian Alb escarpment (southwestern Germany) dominated by anthropogenic impact, lithology, and base-level lowering
Mirjam Schaller, Daniel Peifer, Alexander B. Neely, Thomas Bernard, Christoph Glotzbach, Alexander R. Beer, and Todd A. Ehlers
Earth Surf. Dynam., 13, 571–591, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-571-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-571-2025, 2025
Short summary
How many grains are needed for quantifying catchment erosion from tracer thermochronology?
Andrea Madella, Christoph Glotzbach, and Todd A. Ehlers
Geochronology, 4, 177–190, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-4-177-2022,https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-4-177-2022, 2022
Short summary

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. 
Boyce, J. W., Hodges, K. V., Olszewski, W. J., Jercinovic, M. J., Carpenter, B. D., and Reiners, P. W.: Laser microprobe (U–Th)/He geochronology, Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 70, 3031–3039. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2006.03.019, 2006. 
Bragg, W. H., and Kleeman, R.: On the α particles of radium, and their loss of range in passing through various atoms and molecules, The London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science, 10, 318–340, https://doi.org/10.1080/14786440509463378, 1905. 
Brown, R. W., Beucher, R., Roper, S., Persano, C., Stuart, F., and Fitzgerald, P.: Natural age dispersion arising from the analysis of broken crystals. Part I: Theoretical basis and implications for the apatite (U–Th)/He thermochronometer, Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 122, 478–497, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2013.05.041, 2013. 
Chew, D. M., Petrus, J. A., Kenny, G. G., and McEvoy, N.: Rapid high-resolution U–Pb LA-Q-ICPMS age mapping of zircon, J. Anal. Atom. Spectr., 32, 262–276, https://doi.org/10.1039/C6JA00404K, 2017. 
Download
Short summary
The (U–Th–Sm) / He dating method helps understand the cooling history of rocks. Synthetic modelling experiments were conducted to explore factors affecting in situ vs. whole-grain (U–Th) / He dates. In situ dates are often 30 % older than whole-grain dates, whereas very rapid cooling makes helium loss negligible, resulting in similar whole-grain and in situ dates. In addition, in situ data can reveal cooling histories even from a single grain by measuring helium distributions.
Share