​Method

Fission track Thermochronology is a method for reconstructing the time-temperature histories of rock samples in the upper 1 to 10 km of the Earth’s crust. The fission track (FT) method is a single crystal technique and has several advantages in comparison to other dating methods: (1) any loss of daughter products due to increase of temperature can be detected through track-length measurements and (2) the low temperature range covered by the FT method (~300 – 60°C) is out of detection of most other radiometric dating systems.

 

 

 

 

 

 

FT thermochronology is widely used for reconstruction of low-temperature thermal histories in upper crustal rocks. The method has found particular application in estimating temperature history and long-term denudation rates in passive margin, orogenic belts, rifted margins and more stable areas, providing a means of assessing the timing and volume of sediment being delivered to sedimentary basins, and as an estimator of hydrocarbon maturity potential.

 



Facilities



Complete Fission Track dating facilities are available at Chronology and Chronometry Group at The Department of Petrology and Metallogeny at the University of São Paulo State at Rio Claro (SP). We have a mineral separation lab for concentrating apatite and zircon, facilities for mounting, polishing and etching the samples. The FT laboratory is equipped with a Zeiss AxioImager 2 microscope with a drawing tube, a computer-driven stage, and AxioVision Zeiss Stage software. The microscope is also fitted with a digital camera.