Geochronology Services

We offer U-Pb geochronology on zircons and accessory minerals and Lu-Hf dating on garnets. 

U-Pb Geochronology

Rock samples are first crushed and ground and minerals are separated by water-table (Wilfley table), heavy-liquid and magnetic separation (Frantz magnetic separator).

Zircon grains or grain fragments are manually picked under magnification for imaging analyses. The external morphology of grains is documented by scanning election microscopy while internal structures are examined in polished grain mounts by cathodoluminescence imaging.

PCIGR offers both isotope-dilution and in-situ age analyses applied separately or in tandem where applicable.

Isotope-dilution analysis: Zircons and other accessory minerals are processed with the chemical abrasion, single-grain U-Pb technique using an EARTHTIME ET535 tracer or a UBC 205Pb-233-235U isotope tracer. Analyses are performed via a Nu Instruments Nu TIMS thermal ionization mass spectrometer (TIMS).

In-situ analysis: Zircons and accessory minerals can be analyzed via an excimer laser ablation system coupled to an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS). We have the following laser ablation set-ups:

Lu-Hf Dating

For dating of garnets, grains are washed and admixed with a calibrated and tested UBC 176Lu-180Hf isotope tracer. The mixture then undergoes a stepwise dissolution and cation-exchange chromatography. Lu and Hf isotope compositions are measured via our Nu Instruments Plasma multicollector ICP-MS instrument.

Contacts and Costs

For questions about geochronology instrumentation and submitting samples to PCIGR, contact:

Please do not submit raw or prepared samples without first speaking to us. Thank you.

Consult the Fees page for detailed analytical and sample preparation costs.

Thumbnail image of Geochronology Services cover sheet

Download our Geochronology Services brochure [PDF]

 

First Nations land acknowledegement

We acknowledge that the UBC Point Grey campus is situated on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm.

Pacific Centre for Isotopic and Geochemical Research

Earth and Ocean Sciences Main Building (EOSM), 6339 Stores Road
Vancouver, BC Canada V6T 1Z4

Shared Research Platforms are facilities funded jointly by the Office of the VP, Research and Innovation and Faculties and departments for the purpose of offering specialized research services to UBC and external research communities.

UBC receives support for managing its research enterprise from the federal Research Support Fund.

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