Thermal stability and closure temperature of barite for electron spin resonance dating

• Published in: Quaternary geochronology Vol. 71; p. 101332
• Main Authors: Tsang, Man-Yin, Toyoda, Shin, Tomita, Makiko, Yamamoto, Yuzuru
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.08.2022
• Subjects: Barite; Closure temperature; Electron spin resonance; ESR dating; Thermal stability; Closure temperature; ESR dating; Barite; Electron spin resonance; Thermal stability
• ISSN: 1871-1014; 1878-0350
• DOI: 10.1016/j.quageo.2022.101332

Electron spin resonance (ESR) dating has been applied to barite from hydrothermal vents. Barite in hydrothermal vents cools down rapidly after formation so little attention was paid to the thermal stability of the ESR signal of barite for dating. To discern multiple episodes of fluid flow or to date barite in other geological settings, it is essential to know how the ESR intensity decays with heat, the characteristic decay time and the closure temperature. In this study, we demonstrate that the decay of the ESR intensity of the SO3− radical in barite is a second-order reaction. The characteristic decay time for the ESR intensity to drop by half at 100 °C, 200 °C, 300 °C and 500 °C is of the order of magnitude of 106 years, 10 years, 10 h and 1 s respectively. The closure temperature of barite is generally between 190 and 340 °C. These results provide essential information on environments where the ESR intensity in barite is stable and conditions under which ESR ages can be erased. •ESR intensity of barite decreases rapidly between 300 and 400 °C.•The thermal decay of ESR intensity in barite is a second-order reaction.•The characteristic decay time is at least 8 Ma at 100 °C and 14 years at 200 °C.•The closure temperature is generally between 190 and 340 °C.•ESR dating of barite can be applied to a variety of geological settings.