Thermochronology

Qualification goals/competencies

Knowledge of the basic principles of thermochronological dating methods and their application in geosciences. The focus is on medium to low temperature chronometers, i.e. K-Ar and Ar-Ar dating, fission track dating­, as well as U-Th-He dating.

Content

The course teaches the basic physical and chemical principles of various medium to low temperature chronometers and explains their applicability in the geosciences, especially in tectonics, volcanology and magmatic and metamorphic petrology. In particular, the K-Ar and Ar-Ar dating methods, the fission track dating technique, as well as the U-Th-He dating method and their applicability to different geoscientific questions are explained. In addition to physical-chemical fundamentals, technical aspects such as fission track etching techniques­ or noble gas mass spectrometry are also covered, as well as the modelling of the temperature history of individual samples and sample sets. Exercises dealing in particular with the evaluation and interpretation of real data sets with the aid of various software packages deepen the acquired knowledge.