Articles | Volume 8, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-8-645-2026
https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-8-645-2026
Research article
 | 
20 Oct 2026
Research article |  | 20 Oct 2026

On the effects of ageing and annealing on the apatite and fission-track etch rates

Raymond Jonckheere, Florian Trilsch, Jie Liu, Pengfei Zhai, and Thorsten Nagel

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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. 
Aslanian, C., Jonckheere, R., Wauschkuhn, B., and Ratschbacher, L.: Short communication: Experimental factors affecting fission-track counts in apatite, Geochronology, 4, 109–119, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-4-109-2022, 2022. 
Bobroff, N.: Position measurement with a resolution and noise-limited instrument, Rev. Sci. Instrum., 57, 1152–1157, https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1138619, 1986. 
Boyce, J. W. and Hodges, K. V.: U and Th zoning in Cerro de Mercado (Durango, Mexico) fluorapatite: Insights regarding the impact of recoil redistribution of radiogenic 4He on (U-Th)/He thermochronology, Chem. Geol., 219, 261–274, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2005.02.007, 2005. 
Burtner, R. L., Nigrini, A., and Donelick, R. A.: Thermochronology of Lower Cretaceous source rocks in the Idaho-Wyoming thrust belt, AAPG Bull., 78, 1613–1636, https://doi.org/10.1306/A25FF233-171B-11D7-8645000102C1865D, 1994. 
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Short summary
The fission-track method traces the thermal histories of rocks based on microscopic examination of etched damage trails from uranium fission in apatite. Etching involves two velocities: the rate, vT, of etchant advance along the damage trails and the etch rate, vR, of undamaged apatite. Their values govern which grains are suitable for counting and which tracks are suitable for measurement. Our work provides numerical estimates of vT and vR, and investigates the factors that control them.
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