Coral skeletons record subtle changes in the uranium composition of seawater, providing a window into past environmental conditions. By comparing different coral species, colonies, and sampling methods, we show that corals can reliably detect very small changes (0.6 ‰) associated with freshwater input and climate variability. This makes them a valuable tool for reconstructing past changes in reef and coastal environments.

This study introduces new means to date to date meteorite impacts using Rb-Sr isotopes in micas. The technique provides accurate ages, helping scientists better understand when impacts happened and their effects on Earth's environment and life. This faster, cost-effective approach could help reveal the history of major changes on our planet caused by meteorite collisions.

This study examines how different reference feldspar samples produce different signals using the infrared-radiofluorescence (IR-RF) dating method. By comparing individual grains, controlled grain mixtures, and natural sediment samples, we investigate how mineral chemistry and grain-to-grain variability affect the shape of IR-RF signal. These results help explain why the feldspar signal can vary within a single sample and support moving towards single-grain dating approaches for IR-RF.

Long-lived isotopes (²³⁹Pu and ²⁴⁰Pu), primarily produced during past nuclear weapon testing (1945-1974), are present globally in trace amounts on terrestrial surfaces. By analysing South American lake sediments, we identified three testing periods using the ²⁴⁰Pu/²³⁹Pu ratio analysis and observed discrepancies in the distribution of ¹³⁷Cs and ^239+240Pu activity concentration. This will improve the temporal precision of environmental reconstructions from the last century.

The development of ultraviolet lasers combined with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometers has allowed dating to be carried out on zircon with useful precision in minutes. This has led to a large increase in the amount of available geochronology but it involves corrections for multiple sources of measurement bias, which remain poorly understood. This work investigates the processes responsible for biases and proposes practical and theoretical approaches to improve accuracy.

This study presents new methodology for combined in-situ analysis of Rb-Sr and K-Ca in K-rich micas and feldspars. Simultaneous analysis is especially beneficial for small grains and/or detrital minerals where sample material is limited. This technique has the potential for identifying decoupling between the isotope systems, to further understanding of cooling and alteration processes in micas and feldspars, and increase knowledge of element diffusivity in these minerals.

This paper warns that geochronological data can sometimes look "too good to be true". While scientists usually worry about data being too scattered, overly tidy results may come from over-zealous outlier rejection. A new diagnostic plot helps reveal this hidden problem in published datasets. A survey shows underdispersion is common and can give false confidence in precise ages, reducing accuracy and masking real geological complexity.

We present a new strategy for extracting thermal-history information from sedimentary samples that lost part of their radiogenic helium during burial. It uses combined zircon U/Pb and (U-Th)/He dating to identify grains that formed just before deposition and use them to model the basin thermal history. The model results enable us to estimate the time of cooling before deposition for each grain. We discuss the advantages and limitations of our approach and its application to other methods.

We review updates that have been made to the thermal history modeling program QTQt. QTQt is used to model age and crystal composition data from rock samples used in thermochronology studies to understand the thermal history of a sample. We show that forcing increased complexity does not change how well the model fits the data, but does add complexity to areas of the model that are not controlled by the input data.

Thermochronology is a dating method that measures the time since minerals cooled below a given temperature within the Earth, typically between 50–400 °C. Geoscientists often use thermochronology to measure how fast processes related to plate tectonics or erosion occur over timescales of millions of years. A challenge, however, is that many different temperature histories can produce the same age. In this work we introduce new software for using thermochronology to study geological processes.

Pecube, a 3D thermal-kinematic software that predicts thermochronometer data, has been widely used to constrain the past evolution of mountain belts, but its accessibility and application is still limited. This work overcomes this limitation by offering a graphical user interface to Pecube, PecubeGUI, and by broadening its application to a wider range of tectonic settings through the implementation thermochronometer prediction models in line with the most recent research developments.

Information about the evolution of the upper crust can be gained from the (U-Th)/He thermochronometer, of which the in-situ technique probes sub-volumes of entire grains. We demonstrate that date dispersion using this technique due to He displacement during radioactive decay can be attributed to the geometry of the analysed sub-volumes and its interplay with radionuclide zonation. OptiPit provides a tool to model and evaluate this interplay and to reduce dispersion of in-situ (U-Th)/He datasets.

We demonstrate the ability and limitations of a new Controlled Random Search (CRS) algorithm in the thermal history modeling software HeFTy using synthetic and real datasets. We demonstrate the CRS returns solutions efficiently. However, in CRS results some solution clustering is inevitable. We discuss not only how to identify CRS solution clustering but also how to leverage it to find solution families that can help one build a robust thermal history analysis of thermochronologic data.

Thermochronometry data inversions using the Pecube software are useful to constrain the past evolution of mountain belts. However, configuring the neighbourhood algorithm for Pecube inversions remains challenging for new Pecube users. This contribution aims to provide intuition and guidelines for setting up NA-Pecube inversions to support informed decision-making. It forms part of a broader effort to improve the accessibility of Pecube to new users.

This pilot study uses a Bayesian linear regression model to relate intra-crystalline protein degradation (IcPD) in Bithynia opercula to temperature and time. By integrating thermal profiles with independent ages, we assess the feasibility of a new age calibration. While results show promise, particularly for deep-core material, further research into model uncertainty is required before this approach can be adopted as a standard method in amino acid geochronology.

Zircon (U-Th)/He thermochronometry is a form of radiometric dating using the decay of U and Th to determine the age and cooling history of a sample. This dating system assumes that zircon crystals are chemically uniform, but zircon routinely exhibit zoned or non-uniform distribution of U and Th resulting in scattered data. This paper presents a method of identifying data outliers caused by zoned zircon. Reincorporating these data may produce a more robust geologic interpretation.

To accurately understand past climate change, exact chronologies are fundamental. We dated multiple stalagmites from the Yucatán Peninsula covering the last 2,700 years. Because these cave deposits contain high and variable amounts of contaminating elements that distort age models, we developed a multi-method approach to correct the timelines. Our corrected records now provide a reliable foundation for future studies to track ancient droughts, floods, and their links to Maya cultural evolution.

Electron spin resonance (ESR) thermochronometry can be used to determine rock temperature changes, which occur as rocks move towards Earth's surface in response to uplift and surface erosion. We use samples from a known-temperature borehole to validate the method, by constraining the thermal sensitivity of quartz ESR signals in the laboratory. Whilst we are able to recover temperature successfully with the Al-centre signals, the Ti-centre signals overestimate the borehole temperature.

We present a simple, robust method for triple dating (U–Pb, fission track, and in-situ (U–Th)/He) of apatite using Teflon mounts. The approach increases analytical throughput and ensures data quality via a decision matrix. Validation with Durango apatite and application to the Odenwald demonstrates its reliability and the ability to resolve complex thermal histories.

Fission-track modelling rest on empirical equations fitted to lab datasets. It is therefore doubtful that a specific set applies to all samples, protocols, and analysts, while there also remain unresolved issues. We propose a different take on the data. Our aim is not to improve existing equations, but to construct the basis of an alternative approach, as a reference for interrogating current assumptions, and perhaps as the beginnings of a model that can connect with the latent-track properties.

Monazite fission tracks (MFT) were investigated via three experiments. Xe ion irradiation on monazite displayed point‑defect accumulation with density decrease rather than amorphous transformation, while zircon formed amorphous tracks under identical irradiation. Monazite was selectively etched at ion-irradiated domains, enhancing etchability. Thus, the ultra‑low closure temperature of the MFT system should be modeled on point‑defect formation and annealing rather than on amorphous zone.

We developed CoRSEER, a MATLAB based software that estimates the duration of rock surface exposure and the rate of erosion using the effect of sunlight on trapped electrons present below the surface. The program applies objective curve fitting, simulates how sunlight resets the signal and how erosion removes material, and reports uncertainties and fits them to an unknown data set. Tests on published datasets provide consistent results and better reproducibility.

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, v_T, of etchant advance along the damage trails and the etch rate, v_R, of undamaged apatite. Their values govern which grains are suitable for counting and which tracks are suitable for measurement. Our work provides direct numerical estimates of v_T and v_R, and investigates the factors that control them.

This study investigates Rb–Sr system behavior in hydrothermally altered muscovite using in-situ LA-ICP-QQQ-MS analyses from the Athabasca Basin. Unaltered muscovite records Paleoproterozoic crystallization ages, whereas muscovite altered to illite and sudoite yields a consistent age of ~1640 Ma, corresponding to alteration halos related to unconformity-type uranium deposits. These results highlight the potential of Rb–Sr dating to constrain hydrothermal processes and fluid–rock interactions.

(U-Th)/He chronology requires measuring the absolute amount of radiogenic He in a sample. While high-quality commercial He lines are available, these machines are not always ideal for researchers interested in developing new or emerging techniques like laser ablation (U-Th)/He chronology. This manuscript describes the design, construction, automation, and calibration of a new He analysis line in the CU TRaIL facility that is optimized for laser ablation He measurements.

Infrared-stimulated luminescence (IRSL) dating of feldspar is an essential tool for dating sediments. Two major challenges of the IRSL signal are its “anomalous” instability potentially leading to age underestimation and its slow bleaching by sunlight which may cause age overestimation. Here we propose a progressively elevated temperature (PET) IRSL single aliquot regenerative (SAR) procedure to isolate a potentially stable IRSL signal from a set of best bleached subsamples.

The OSLThermo and ESRThermo MATLAB libraries simulate how luminescence signals in feldspar and electron spin resonance signals in quartz minerals accumulate and fade over time, enabling reconstruction of recent rock cooling and surface temperature changes. By sharing these tools openly, we hope to promote collaboration, reproducibility, and broader use and development of these ultra-low-temperature thermochronology methods.

Geological processes like erosion, burial, and faulting can influence or perturb heat conditions in the Earth's crust through time, which can complicate our interpretation of the geological significance of rock cooling histories determined from thermochronology. This 1D modeling study quantifies and illustrates the expected relationships between various lithosphere-scale geological processes and resulting thermal histories and thermochronometer ages.

A novel approach, µ-paleotopometry, bridges gaps among tools used to quantify landscape evolution. It computes landscape change by using concentrations of isotopes produced by cosmic rays deep below the Earth's surface to gauge changes in crustal shielding above each sample. We provide a state of knowledge, strategies, and limitations of this potentially useful approach to study landscape evolution at timescales that are important to tectonic and climatic processes and nuclear waste management.

Luminescence dating of feldspar minerals is widely applied in geology and archaeology. However, the luminescence of feldspar is prone to signal loss termed anomalous fading, which must be accounted for to avoid age underestimation. Here, we critically review the different mathematical approaches for anomalous fading correction, and present new, computationally efficient, analytical expressions for the two most ubiquitous fading correction schemes.

Collision of cosmic rays with the atmosphere produces rare atoms, including beryllium-10, which falls out in precipitation and binds to soils. Measurements on glacial deposits from the last ice age in Colorado, USA show that millions of beryllium-10 atoms fall on each square centimeter of land each year. The rate of delivery increases with elevation and precipitation, which allowed us to make maps of the beryllium-10 flux for an entire watershed that will be used to measure erosion rates.