This study demonstrates the utility of laser-ablation-based detrital biotite Rb–Sr geochronology to investigate the rates of exhumation and burial in active mountain-building systems. It is further demonstrated that additional chemical data collected during spot analyses can be used to determine temperatures recorded in biotite. The method used has advantages over traditional methods in speed, ease of acquisition, and the ability to collect additional chemical information.

Establishing an etching procedure for monazite fission tracks (MFTs) is essential for MFT dating. In this short communication, we investigated the parameters governing the etching rate of MFTs, particularly the effect of radiation damage. Our results show an inverse relationship between MFT etching time and the degree of radiation damage. We show that existing etching recipes may not sufficiently etch MFTs in young monazite, advocating the importance of revising etching methods.

The “Likhall” bed helps to constrain the timing of increased meteorite bombardment of the Earth during the Ordovician period. It is important to understand the timing of this meteorite bombardment when attempting to correlate it with biodiversity changes during the Ordovician period. Calibrating a good age for the “Likhall” bed is, however, challenging and benefited in this study from advances in sample preparation.

Zircon is a mineral where uranium decays to lead. Some radiation damage lets lead escape. A method called chemical abrasion (CA) dissolves out the damaged portions of zircon so that remaining zircon retains lead. We compare ion beam analyses of untreated and chemically abraded zircons. The ion beam ages for untreated zircons match the reference values for untreated zircon. The ion beam ages for CA zircon match CA reference ages. Other elements are unaffected by the chemical abrasion process.

In this study, we use cosmogenic-sourced ³He to determine the eruption ages of 23 lava flows at Mt Ruapehu, Aotearoa New Zealand, and we show how this method can help overcome challenges associated with traditional dating methods in young lavas. Comparison with other methods demonstrates the accuracy of our data and the method's reliability. The new eruption ages allowed us to identify periods of quasi-simultaneous activity from different volcanic vents during the last 20 000 years.

The age of some geological materials can be estimated from the ratio of certain radiogenic "daughter" isotopes to their radioactive "parent". However, in many cases, the age estimation process is complicated by the presence of an inherited component of non-radiogenic daughter isotopes. This paper presents an improved algorithm to estimate the radiogenic and non-radiogenic components, either separately or jointly.

We fill a spatial data gap in the ice sheet retreat history of the Laurentide Ice Sheet after the Last Glacial Maximum and investigate a hypothesis that the ice sheet re-advanced into western New York, USA, at ~13 ka. With radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating, we find that ice began retreating from its maximum extent after 20 ka, but glacial ice persisted in glacial landforms until ~15–14 ka when they finally stabilized. We find no evidence of a re-advance at ~13 ka.

We present a new data analysis workflow for thermochronological data based on plots of radiogenic daughter vs. radioactive parent concentration. The daughter–parent relationship helps to identify the sources of age variation. Our workflow classifies the daughter–parent relationship and provides further suggestions, e.g., if a dataset can be described by a sample age and which type of sample age to report. We also introduce Incaplot, which is software for creating daughter–parent plots.

Marine sediments are excellent archives for reconstructing past changes in climate and ocean circulation. Yet, dating uncertainties, particularly during the 20th century, pose major challenges. Here we propose a novel chronostratigraphic approach that uses anthropogenic signals, such as the oceanic ¹³C Suess effect and spheroidal carbonaceous fly-ash particles, to reduce age model uncertainties in high-resolution marine archives over the 20th century. 

RA138 is a new reference material for U–Pb dating of carbonate samples via laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. RA138 exhibits variable U–Pb ratios and consistent U content, resulting in a precise isochron with low uncertainty. Isotope dilution thermal ionization mass spectrometry analyses fix a reference age of 321.99 ± 0.65 Ma. This research advances our ability to date carbonate samples accurately, providing insights into geological processes and historical timelines.

We present an improved workflow for extracting and measuring chlorine isotopes in rocks and minerals. Experiments on seven geologic samples demonstrate that our workflow provides reliable results while offering several distinct advantages over traditional methods. Most notably, our workflow reduces the amount of isotopically enriched chlorine spike used per rock sample by up to 95 %, which will allow researchers to analyze more samples using their existing laboratory supplies.

Cosmogenic nuclides, such as ¹⁰Be, are rare isotopes produced in rocks when exposed at Earth's surface and are valuable for understanding surface processes and landscape evolution. However, ¹⁰Be is usually measured in quartz minerals. Here we present advances in efficiently extracting and measuring ¹⁰Be in the pyroxene mineral. These measurements expand the use of ¹⁰Be as a dating tool for new rock types and provide opportunities to understand landscape processes in areas that lack quartz.