We show that portable X-ray fluorescence can be used to rapidly (ca. 90 s) estimate the rate of background radioactivity in sediment used to calculate burial ages in trapped charge dating studies. This procedure involves inputting a measurement of potassium concentration into a set of simple regression equations, defined by a large radionuclide dataset. Results show good agreement with high-precision methods. Our rapid method will help to quickly generate burial age estimates.

We developed a faster and simpler method to measure helium gas in targeted minerals within whole rocks to determine how long they have been exposed at Earth's surface. Instead of manually separating minerals, our method uses heat to release gas from the specific minerals of interest. This reduces time, cost, and physical effort, making it easier to collect large amounts of data when studying landscape change or when only small rock samples are available.

In this study, Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL), Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) and Laser Ablation-Induced Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectroscopy (La-ICPMS) trace element (TE) analyses shows that TE composition may influence OSL and ESR-Ti sensitivities in quartz, which vary with bedrock type. Pressure may take a part in OSL/ESR-Ti sensitivities variability while ESR-Al intensities could be linked to initial fluid composition and crystallization conditions

To improve U-Th zircon dating, we optimized a U-Th-Pb double-dating strategy for young zircon (150–300 ka). We found that the overall U-Th age spectrum is consistent whether assuming a constant melt composition or constant U/Th fractionation between zircon and melt, but testing the representability of the measured glass with the youngest isochron intercept proved essential. A Bayesian model with a uniform prior distribution gave the most accurate estimates of eruption timing for U-Th datasets.

Marine sediments contain valuable information about past climate changes. However, dating Pleistocene marine sediments can be difficult, and the accuracy of the age model depends on the quality of the stratigraphic alignment target. We introduce three targets – Atlantic, Pacific, and global – with three distinct chronologies for the global target that incorporate astronomical forcing constraints to various degrees. This suite of targets offers flexibility in age model construction.

geochron@home is a free and open-source platform that makes fission track dating more transparent and reliable. It combines a virtual microscope with an online database to share images and data openly, following FAIR principles. Researchers can analyse tracks privately, archive data for peer review, teach students, or involve citizen scientists. By improving data access and reproducibility, geochron@home helps build trust and supports future advances in Earth science.

To investigate the Laurentide Ice Sheet’s erosivity before and during the Last Glacial Maximum, we sampled sand deposited by ice in eastern Canada before final deglaciation. We also sampled modern river sand. The ²⁶Al and ¹⁰Be measured in glacial deposited sediments suggests that ice remained during some Pleistocene warm periods and was an inefficient eroder. Similar concentrations of ²⁶Al and ¹⁰Be in modern sand suggests that most modern river sediment is sourced from glacial deposits. 

This study dated chrysocolla, a supergene copper mineral, from copper deposits hosted in the Coastal Cordillera of northern Chile, with ages between 8.0 and 0.045 million years. Results show that from the Late Miocene to the Pleistocene, short periods of moisture triggered mineral formation despite the hyperarid climate. These wetter periods were likely caused by occasional rainfall or stronger coastal fog, causing repeated pulses of supergene activity in the Coastal Cordillera.

(U-Th-Sm)/He dating is a tool to investigate when and how rocks cooled through the upper Earth’s crust. We explore strategies to reconstruct thermal histories of individual apatite crystals by direct measurement of their helium concentration profile and radionuclide distribution. This approach allows for the inclusion of inhomogeneous grains in thermal modelling, which is often problematic in traditional (U-Th-Sm)/He methods.

Bayesian modelling is often used to refine numerically dated chronological sequences, e.g., by making use of stratigraphic constraints. First, a high-resolution dataset based on luminescence dating is modelled with the dedicated R package BayLum. Then, three Bayesian modelling tools – namely BayLum, Chronomodel and OxCal – are compared using a high-resolution, radiocarbon dataset. Modelling artefacts are identified; the strengths and weaknesses of the models are discussed.

We present an open-access Python package (GDTchron) designed to forward model apatite (U-Th)/He, apatite fission track, and zircon (U-Th)/He ages using temperatures output by geodynamic numerical models. The software can be used in a parallelized workflow to calculate large numbers of ages. We present two examples of potential applications of GDTchron: a simple model of exhumation and a complex model of continental rifting followed by mountain building.