Accurate U‐Pb Age and Trace Element Determinations of Zircon by Laser Ablation‐Inductively Coupled Plasma‐Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

Various zircons of Proterozoic to Oligocene ages (1060‐31 Ma) were analysed by laser ablation‐inductively coupled plasma‐mass spectrometry. Calibration was performed using Harvard reference zircon 91500 or Australian National University reference zircon TEMORA 1 as external calibrant. The results agree with those obtained by SIMS within 2s error. Twenty‐four trace and rare earth elements (P, Ti, Cr, Y, Nb, fourteen REE, Hf, Ta, Pb, Th and U) were analysed on four fragments of zircon 91500. NIST SRM 610 was used as the reference material and 29 Si was used as internal calibrant. Based on determinations of four fragments, this zircon shows significant intra‐and inter‐fragment variations in the range from 10% to 85% on a scale of 120 μm, with the variation of REE concentrations up to 38.7%, although the chondrite‐normalised REE distributions are very similar. In contrast, the determined age values for zircon 91500 agree with TIMS data and are homogeneous within 8.7 Ma (2 s). A two‐stage ablation strategy was developed for optimising U‐Pb age determinations with satisfactory trace element and REE results. The first cycle of ablation was used to collect data for age determination only, which was followed by continuous ablation on the same spot to determine REE and trace element concentrations. Based on this procedure, it was possible to measure zircon ages as low as 30.37 0.39 Ma (MSWD = 1.4; 2 s). Other examples for older zircons are also given.