U-series ages of solitary corals from the California coast by mass spectrometry

Journal Article · Sun Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 1991 · Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7037(91)90069-H· OSTI ID:7206224

Stein, M; Wasserburg, G J; Chen, J H ^[1]; Lajoie, K R ^[2]

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1. California Inst. of Tech., Pasadena (United States)
2. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA (United States)

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of dating fossil solitary corals from Pleistocene marine strandlines outside tropical latitudes using the recently developed high sensitivity, high-precision U-series technique based on thermal-ionization mass-spectrometry (TIMS). The TIMS technique is much more efficient than conventional {alpha} spectrometry and, as a result, multiple samples of an individual coral skeleton, or different specimens from the same bed can be analyzed. Detached and well-rounded fossil specimens of the solitary coral Balanophyllia elegans were collected from relict littoral deposits on emergent marine terraces along the California coast at Cayucos terrace, Shell Beach terrace, Nestor terrace, San Diego, Bird Rock terrace, San Diego. Attached living specimens were collected from the intertidal zone on the modern terrace at Moss Beach. The calculated initial {sup 234}U activities in the fossil specimens of Balanophyllia elegans are higher than the {sup 234}U activity in modern seawater or in the modern specimen. The higher initial activities could possibly reflect the influx of {sup 234}U-enriched continental water into Pleistocene coastal waters, or it could reflect the influx of {sup 234}U-enriched continental water into Pleistocene coastal waters, or it could reflect minor diagenetic alteration, a persistent and fundamental problem in dating all corals.

• DOE Contract Number: FG03-88ER13851
• OSTI ID: 7206224
• Journal Information: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta; (United States), Vol. 55:12; ISSN 0016-7037
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
CORALS
ISOTOPE DATING
MASS SPECTROMETERS
PERFORMANCE TESTING
RELIABILITY
CALIFORNIA
DIAGENESIS
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
GEOCHEMISTRY
MASS SPECTROSCOPY
QUATERNARY PERIOD
REEFS
THORIUM ISOTOPES
URANIUM ISOTOPES
ACTINIDE ISOTOPES
AGE ESTIMATION
ANIMALS
CENOZOIC ERA
CHEMISTRY
CNIDARIA
COELENTERATA
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
INVERTEBRATES
ISOTOPES
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
NORTH AMERICA
SPECTROMETERS
SPECTROSCOPY
TESTING
USA
580000* - Geosciences
540211 - Environment
Terrestrial- Basic Studies- Radiometric Techniques- (1990-)