Solid Earth Sciences Library

Particle Tracks and Fission Tracks.- 1.1. Particle Tracks in Solids: Generalities.- 1.2. Structure of the Latent Track.- 1.2.1. Track width.- 1.2.2. Atomic structure.- 1.3. Track Formation.- 1.3.1. Particle-solid interactions.- 1.3.2. Track-formation processes and theories.- 1.4. Nuclear Fission and Formation of Fission Tracks.- 1.4.1. Process of nuclear fission.- 1.4.2. Latent fission tracks.- 1.4.3. Spatial and areal density of fission tracks.- Track Revelation and Observation.- 2.1. Techniques of Track Revelation: Chemical Etching.- 2.2. Etched Tracks in Glass.- 2.3.1. Fundamentals.- 2.2.2. Track density.- 2.2.3. Track shape and size.- 2.2.4. Effects of varying Vt.- 2.2.5. Factors affecting track etching.- 2.3. Etched Tracks in Crystals.- 2.3.1. Fundamentals.- 2.3.2. Track shape.- 2.3.3. Track density.- 2.3.4. Size distributions of track populations.- 2.3.5. Factors affecting track etching.- 2.4. Microscopic Observation.- 2.4.1. Equipment and techniques.- 2.4.2. Automated observation.- 3. Fission-Track Dating Method.- 3.1. Natural Tracks and their Origin.- 3.2. Principles of the Dating Method: Fundamental Age Equation.- 3.3. Practical Age Equation.- 3.4. Relevant Nuclear Parameters.- 3.4.1. Decay-constant of 238 U spontaneous fission (?f).- 3.4.2. Cross-section of 235 U neutron-induced fission.- 3.5. Dating Systems and their Calibration.- 3.5.1. Absolute approach.- 3.5.2. Age standard approach: the ? -method.- 3.6. Dating Procedures and Techniques.- 3.6.1. Grain-population methods.- 3.6.2. Grain-by-grain methods.- 3.7. Practical Considerations.- 3.7.1. Sample preparation and irradiation.- 3.7.2. Track counting and measuring.- 3.8. Data Analysis and Error Calculation.- 3.8.1. Grain-population methods.- 3.8.2. Grain-by-grain methods.- 3.8.3. Error in the age determination.- 3.8.4. Analysis of age groups.- 3.9. Age Standards and Accuracy of Age Determination.- 3.10. Data Presentation.- 4. Fading of Fission Tracks.- 4.1. Causes of Track Fading.- 4.2. Track Annealing under Experimental Conditions.- 4.2.1. Annealing experiments.- 4.2.2. Arrhenius diagram.- 4.2.3. Length of annealed fission tracks.- 4.2.4. Factors of influence on annealing.- 4.2.5. Annealing kinetics.- 4.3. Track Stability under Natural Conditions.- 4.3.1. Bore-hole studies.- 4.3.2. Outcrop studies.- 4.3.3. Temperatures of effective track retention.- 5. Geological Interpretation.- 5.1. Intersecting Probability of Faded Tracks.- 5.2. Partial Annealing and Effective Retention of Tracks.- 5.3. T-t-Path and Fission-Track Accumulation.- 5.4. T-t-Path and Fission-Track-Length Distribution.- 5.5. Types of Fission-Track Age.- 5.5.1 A-type ages (formation and early cooling).- 5.5.2. B-type ages (cooling and uplift).- 5.5.3. C-type ages (complex and overprint ages).- 5.6. Age-Depth Profiles.- 5.6.l. Stratigraphic profile.- 5.6.2. Uplift profile.- 5.6.3. Complex profile.- 5.6.4. Modelled uplift age-depth profiles.- 5.7. Correction of Track Fading.- 5.7.1. Track-size-correction technique.- 5.7.2. Plateau-correction technique.- 6. Applicability.- 6.1. Time Span.- 6.2. Geological Materials.- 6.2.1. Allanite.- 6.2.2. Amazonite.- 6.2.3. Apatite.- 6.2.4. Barysilite.- 6.2.5. Bastnasite.- 6.2.6. Beryl.- 6.2.7. Calcite.- 6.2.8. Chlorite.- 6.2.9. Epidote.- 6.2.10. Garnet.- 6.2.11. Glass.- 6.2.12. Glauconite.- 6.2.13. Hornblende.- 6.2.14. Hubnerite.- 6.2.15. Kyanite.- 6.2.16. Mica.- 6.2.17. Microlite.- 6.2.18. Monazite.- 6.2.19. Orpiment.- 6.2.20. Quartz.- 6.2.21. Scheelite.- 6.2.22. Secondary lead minerals.- 6.2.23. Sphene.- 6.2.24. Stibiotantalite.- 6.2.25. Tanzanite.- 6.2.26. Vermiculite.- 6.2.27. Vesuvianite.- 6.2.28. Zeolite.- 6.2.29. Zircon.- 7. Application.- 7.1. Tephrochronology.- 7.2. Post-Orogenic Uplift of Mountain Belts.- 7.2.1. General.- 7.2.2. Central Alps.- 7.3. Epeirogenic Uplift of Basements.- 7.3.1. Transantarctic Mountains.- 7.3.2. Central European Basement.- 7.4. Age and Amount of Displacement along Faults.- 7.5. Thermal Evolution of Sedimentary Basins.- 7.5.1. Tejon Oil Field.- 7.5.2. Otway Basin.- 7.6. Age and Thermal History of Ore Deposits.- 7.6.1. Mineralization ages.- 7.6.2. Thermal history of MVT deposits.- 7.7. Meteoroid Impacts.- 7.7.1. Age of impact structures.- 7.7.2. Thermal evolution of the Ries impact crater.- 7.7.3. Tektites.- 7.8. Sea-Floor Spreading.- 7.9. Archaeological Application.- 7.9.1. Man-made glass.- 7.9.2. Obsidian.- 7.9.3. Fired stones and baked soils.- 7.9.4. Palaeolithic marker horizons.- Appendix A: Etching Conditions for the Revelation of Fission Tracks.- Appendix B: Annealing Properties of Fission Tracks in Minerals and Glasses.- Appendix C: Fundamentals of Error Calculation in Fission-Track Dating.- References.