Factors influencing data reproducibility of fission-track (FT) thermochronology can be summarized into three main categories associated with data acquisition steps. (1) Sample preparation involves mineral separation, mounting, polishing and etching; (2) data revelation relates to instrumentation (microscope, LAICPMS, etc.) and software settings; and (3) execution depends on feature selection by the analyst. Previous committee reports and studies (Hurford A.J. 1990; Ketcham et al. 2009; Ketcham et al. 2015; Ketcham et al. 2018) have contributed significant insights into the reproducibility of fission-track data by comparing length and age measurements produced by several laboratories using their own preparation and revelation procedures. A recent attempt to isolate analyst-specific factors in length measurement using an image-based approach (Tamer et al. 2019) found that when two analysts observe the same feature and agree it is a valid track, measurement reproducibility was very good, though impacted by etching. Dispersion of individual length measurements was 0.7-1.0 µm (2 for weaker etching and 0.5-0.8 µm for stronger etching, but mean lengths were always within 0.1 µm of each other. Where the analysts disagreed more significantly, however, was in finding tracks and evaluating whether they were valid, sufficiently clear, and sufficiently etched for measurement, which led to differences of up to ~0.8 µm in mean track length. This study builds on the image-based approach to encompass more aspects of the measurement process and increase the number of analysts being compared. We will look at confined track selection in greater detail, and also study analyst decisions behind age determination, including the selection of the region of interest for counting, and identification of grain-surface features as tracks appropriate for counting. Reflected and transmitted light image stacks for 41 grains and graticules are available on a cloud platform Participants will carry out analyses of these images using their preferred approach, e.g. suitable analytical software, manual measurements or AI-based analysis. A limited license for FastTracks (v3.2) will be available for those who would like to participate but do not have measurement software. Analysts are asked to fill out a questionnaire about their fission track experience, conduct track density estimations, confined track length and Dpar measurements, and especially provide comments on all grains being analyzed or skipped. FastTracks users are asked to send the .xml files produced by the software, while other participants are asked to submit the results using a template. The results will be entirely anonymous unless the analyst states otherwise. The deadline for the submission of the results is June 1st, 2022. The results will be shared on 18th International Conference on Thermochronology.

Monazite fission-track presents itself as a novel, low-temperature thermochronometer with annealing studies placing its closure temperature between ~45 and 25 °C. Previously, monazite has been unsuitable for fission-track dating due to high abundance of gadolinium and insufficient investigation of the etching protocol. Gadolinium causes self-shielding via thermal neutron capture and substantial associated nuclear heating during irradiation which prevented robust monazite fission-track dating using the traditional external detector method. Further, early etching studies were found to be extremely corrosive to monazite grains. However, developments in LA-ICP-MS fission-track analysis allow for measurement of 238U and improvements in monazite fission-track etching protocols mean that dating monazite through the fission-track method is now viable. In this study, we present monazite fission-track data from an elevation profile (2260 m, 2000 m, 1600 m, and 1200 m) from the Catalina metamorphic core complex (Catalina MCC), in southern AZ, USA. We follow the etching protocol described in Jones et al. (2019), etching the monazites in 6 M HCl for 90 minutes at 90 °C. We measure the 238U concentration via LA-ICP-MS and compare the dates to other multi-method thermochronology from the same rocks. Traditional low-temperature thermochronology (apatite and zircon fission-track, apatite and zircon (U-Th-Sm)/He) from the Catalina MCC reveals cooling at 25-20 Ma and 18-10 Ma. Preliminary monazite fission-track analysis yields a date of 6.1 ± 0.4 Ma, far younger than all the traditional thermochronometric data, in-line its far lower closure temperature. The 6 Ma monazite fission-track date is consistent with the youngest phase of hematite (U-Th)/He dates observed in the nearby Rincon metamorphic core complex and suggest that these dates correspond to the latest phase of exhumation in response to Basin and Range extension and/or climate enhanced erosion. These preliminary results show that monazite fission-track can reveal shallow crustal processes and contribute to constraining thermal histories below ~60 oC, which are traditionally difficult to resolve.

Reconstructing thermal histories in thrust belts using thermochronometry is a widely used method to infer the age and rates of thrusting, a precondition to understanding the driving mechanisms of orogenesis. Along a thrust sheet, the time and temperature conditions at the switch between heating and cooling retrieved from thermal modeling are commonly interpreted as the onset of thrust-induced exhumation associated with thrustbelt development. In subduction orogens such as the Andes, this interpretation can be challenged by the intrinsic changes in basal heat flow imposed by changes in subduction regimes. We document a case in the northwestern Sierras Pampeanas in the Argentinean Central Andes in which independent constraints on the onset late Cenozoic thrusting derived from structural cross-cutting relationships allow us to explore alternative causes for Cenozoic cooling signals. Located at ~31°S Lat, the Villa Unión-Ischigualasto basin hosts a composite stratigraphic record associated with Triassic rifting developed onto the Paleozoic substratum of western Gondwana and the overlying Meso-Cenozoic foreland basin record. A multi-method approach including apatite fission-track, apatite and zircon (U-Th)/He analyses, vitrinite reflectance and clay mineralogy carried out along three stratigraphic profiles, and inverse thermal modeling reveals the thermal history patterns and allows inferring its triggering mechanisms. Despite an up to 5 km-thick Cenozoic overburden and unlike previously thought, the thermal peak in the basin is not due to Cenozoic burial but occurred in the Triassic, associated with an abnormally high heat flow of up to 90 mWm-2 and less than 2 km of burial, which heated the base of the Triassic strata to ~160°C. Following exhumation, attested by the development of an unconformity between the Triassic and Late-Cretaceous-Cenozoic sequences, Cenozoic re-burial increased the temperature to ~110°C at the base of the Triassic section and only ~50°C 4 km upsection, suggesting a dramatic decrease in the thermal gradient. The onset of Cenozoic cooling from those conditions occurred between ~10 and 8 Ma, approximately 5 My before the onset of thrusting that has been independently documented by exceptionally well preserved stratigraphic-cross-cutting relationships. We argue that the onset of cooling is associated with lithospheric refrigeration following a decrease in the angle of subduction of the Nazca slab, leading to the eastward displacement of the asthenospheric wedge beneath the South American plate. Our study places time and temperature constraints on an idea that has been previously discussed in the region and calls for a careful interpretation of exhumation signals in thrustbelts inferred from thermochronology only.

Apatite (U-Th)/He (AHe) dating is a widely-applied thermochronological technique used to decipher low-temperature thermal histories. Accurate dates require that the results are corrected for α-ejection because 4He atoms travel ~20 µm during α-decay and a correction is required to account for He lost by this effect. Effective uranium concentrations (eU) are important for accurate AHe data interpretation because radiation damage scales with eU, which affects He retentivity. Both α-ejection correction parameter (Ft) and eU are calculated on the basis of crystal size and assuming an idealized morphology. However, the uncertainty stemming from the calculations’ assumptions depends on how much the real crystal geometry deviates from that assumed, and this uncertainty is typically not included in the propagated uncertainties on AHe data. Our goal for this study was to develop a ‘rule of thumb’ for Ft and eU uncertainties associated with the full range of commonly analyzed apatite geometries by comparing manually measured grain size and actual grain size using nano-computed tomography (nano-CT). Apatite geometry and roughness were characterized using a Grain Evaluation Matrix (GEM). The geometry of each grain was described as: A (prismatic/hexagonal), B (subprismatic), or C (rounded/ellipsoid). Surface roughness was graded from ‘least’ to ‘most’ using values from 1 to 3. The GEM allows for a single parameter (eg. B2) to succinctly classify a grain’s morphology. High resolution nano-CT scans of ~260 grains representative of those usually analyzed for AHe dates were completed and processed using Dragonfly and Blob3D. Initial analysis shows that manual grain measurements systematically overestimate the actual grain size, leading to overestimates in Ft and eU values. One correction exists for A and B grains (hexagonal) and another for C grains (ellipsoid). The correction is controlled primarily by grain size and shape, while the uncertainty on the correction appears to be controlled primarily by surface roughness. Together, this approach provides a simple and practical tool for deriving more accurate Ft and concentration values, and for incorporating this oft neglected geometric uncertainty into AHe dates.

Since the advent of particle-track methods, it has been understood that the energy loss rate of an ion changes continuously along the particle trajectory, and that energy loss rate in turn affects etching rate. As fission particles slow down and stop, their energy loss rate also drops, which in turn reduces their along-track etching velocity. Conversely, the conceptual model that underlies the way we interpret track length data is based on a more simplified paradigm of a constant along-track etching velocity, vT, with the track tip marking the transition to bulk crystal etching, vB, at its maximum etchable extent. We present a new model for the etching and revelation of confined fission tracks that incorporates and attempts to quantify variable along-track etching velocity, vT(x). The model attempts to fully represent the track-in-track (TINT) revelation process, consisting of etchant penetration along semi-tracks intersecting the polished grain surface, expansion of etchant channels to intersect latent confined tracks, etching of confined tracks, and finally selection by the analyst of tracks suitable for measurement. We successfully use the model to fit step-etching data for spontaneous and unannealed and annealed induced confined tracks in Durango apatite. All model fits support a continuous decrease in etching velocity toward track tips, and lead to a series of insights concerning the theory and practice of fission-track thermochronology. Etching rates for annealed induced tracks in Durango apatite are much faster than those for unannealed induced and spontaneous tracks, impacting the relative efficiency of both confined track length and density measurements, and suggesting that high-temperature laboratory annealing may induce a transformation in track cores that does not occur at geological conditions of partial annealing. However, we are still investigating to what degree that pattern holds for other apatite varieties. The model also quantifies how variation in track selection criteria by analysts, which we approximate as the ratio of along-track to bulk etching velocity at the etched track tip (vT/vB), is likely to play a first-order role in the reproducibility of confined length measurements, and may explain the bulk of the variability observed in inter-laboratory calibration exercises. The concept of a “fully etched track” is subjective. Finally, the model illustrates how a substantial proportion of tracks that are intersected are not measured, which in turn indicates that length biasing is likely to be an insufficient mathematical basis for predicting the relative probability of detection of different track populations.

Radiation damage in zircon directly impacts diffusion of He from the crystal lattice and is a key factor in defining the kinetics of the zircon (U-Th)/He system. Damage accumulates within a crystal as a function of time and U and Th concentration, but can be thermally annealed as well. The total level of radiation damage in a zircon crystal is governed by a thermally-activated, kinetic process, which in turn influences the interpretation of zircon (U-Th)/He dates for thermal histories. Several annealing models have been defined for the zircon system based on measurements in natural crystals; however, few studies have investigated how multiple levels of radiation damage due to zonation of actinides within a crystal may influence the annealing process. Here we use Raman spectroscopy to map the full width half maximum (FWHM) of then (SiO) band, a proxy for radiation damage, in zircon crystals from the Lucerne pluton (Maine, USA) with heterogeneous distributions of U and Th. We compare FWHM maps before and after annealing these crystals at laboratory times and temperatures. These maps show that each damage zone within a single zircon acts as an isolated domain that is dictated by an independent set of annealing kinetics. Thermally activated annealing decreases radiation damage in all radiation damage zones; however, the rate of annealing is not consistent across all zones. We identify specific modes of damage in probability density plots of all measured FWHM in a crystal that are not present in pre-annealed imagery, but persist in post-annealing Raman maps, regardless of laboratory time temperature conditions: FWHM modes at 2-5 cm, 10-15 cm, and25-30 cm. We attribute these persistent damage modes to variable annealing kinetics that are partially dependent on the level of pre-annealing damage, combined with the inability of high-damage crystals, or zones within crystals, to fully recover their crystallinity. That is, some damage is permanent. These findings therefore show that zircon crystals with non-uniform distributions of U and Th can anneal to create long-lived damage zones at specific damage levels, which has implications for treating the zircon (U-Th)/He chronometer as a multi-domain diffusion system.

Inverse thermal history modeling is an effective tool to explore plausible time-temperature (t-T) histories that can be used to describe the geologic history of a sample. Although in some inverse modeling exercises the input thermochronology data is consistent with a single set of t-T histories with similar heating and cooling trends, more commonly inverse models identify a range of paths with different and distinct heating and cooling histories but similarly good fits to the data. Each set of these “path families” typically requires a different geologic interpretation to explain the observed heating and cooling trend, so it is important to identify and consider all possible path families consistent with the regional geology that fit the modelled dataset before selecting a preferred geologic interpretation. Although the inverse model results are always consistent with measured data, a model’s ability to detect all possible path families is partly controlled by the model design – for example the choice of initial conditions, monotonicity settings, and forced time-temperature windows. In this exercise using the thermal history modeling program HeFTy, we illustrate the effects of model design on the inverse model results of a set of multi-chronometer datasets from the southern Patagonian Andes. We use model design to maximize the number of path families identified through inverse modeling. Once individual paths are classified according to path families, we use independently constrained regional geology to discriminate among the diverse plausible set of path families and evaluate different available geologic scenarios. Our exercise illustrates that models restricting exploration of all path families may not identify the true cooling history of the sample. Initially, it may appear challenging to interpret inverse model results that include multiple path families, but we argue that iterating between independent geologic data and modeling provides an effective tool to test the geologic plausibility of alternative heating and cooling histories. Although this exercise is executed using HeFTy, maximizing the identification of all possible path families should be an important component of model design in inverse modeling exercises using all inverse modeling programs.

Single-aliquot (U-Th)/He dating of iron-oxides requires less mass and has a higher spatial resolution than the two-aliquot approach, and is, therefore, a more reliable tool for quantifying the timescales of weathering processes, fault activity, and the development of soils and surfaces. Highly helium-retentive hematite samples must be heated to 1000-1100 °C to completely degas He, but we show that U is lost progressively during laser-heating starting at ~900 °C, with major U-loss at ~980 °C and complete U-loss at 1050-1100 °C. This partial or complete loss of U leads to incorrect (U-Th)/He ages that appear older than the true ages. We performed a series of heating tests on hematite and goethite aliquots with independently determined (U-Th)/He ages of 10-1761 Ma in which the helium release was determined by isotope-dilution mass spectrometry and phase change was monitored by infrared spectroscopy. As hematite is heated, reduction of Fe3+ causes a phase change to magnetite and then to elemental Fe. We correlate the onset of U-loss to the phase change from hematite to magnetite. By raising the temperature of this phase transition using a high oxygen partial pressure (pO2) in the sample chamber during laser-heating, we show that the onset temperature of U-loss is equally raised. Samples can therefore be safely degassed at higher temperatures without any detectable U-loss. In our implementation of this technique, the O2 in the sample chamber is being withdrawn from a tank using a pipette and it is being released before and captured after the degassing process on activated charcoal in a cold finger with a movable LN2 Dewar flask. We describe the automation of this process for routine degassing of hematite samples. We show that an average age calculated on a reference hematite sample from replicate aliquots (n=12), which were analyzed using this procedure, has a relative uncertainty of 2% (1σ), and is within uncertainty of the previously measured two-aliquot age. We suggest this high-pO2 degassing procedure as a way to precisely and reproducibly determine single-aliquot hematite and goethite (U-Th)/He ages.

Numerical thermal history modelling has become a core approach used for interpretation of low-temperature thermochronometry data. Modelling programs can find rock time-temperature (t-T) paths that fit the input data while incorporating independent geologic information about a sample’s history and leveraging the factors that impact the kinetics of each thermochronometric system (e.g., grain size, radiation damage, and composition). HeFTy (Ketcham, 2005) and QTQt (Gallagher, 2012) are two of the commonly used tools for both forward and inverse t-T modeling. The modelling process involves making key decisions about (i) data input, (ii) initial set-up of model space and parameters, (iii) kinetic model(s) (i.e. annealing, diffusion, radiation damage), and (iv) additional t-T constraints. In addition, users need to have an understanding of the statistical methods underlying the modelling approach to be able to interpret the model outputs and the relationship between the observed and predicted data. However, these modeling tools currently lack clear and accessible entry-points for all users—experienced and new thermochronologists alike—and thus for many geoscientists, there is a substantial barrier to the modeling, interpretation, and publication of thermochronologic datasets. Here we present a suite of simple forward and inverse models that we recommend everyone perform before embarking on t-T modeling in HeFTy and/or QTQt for the first time. At the core of the exercises are the six different t-T paths used by Wolf et al. (1998) to illustrate the partial-retention behavior of the apatite He system; however, this approach can easily be applied to other systems as well. This exercise not only illustrates the fundamental behavior of thermochronologic systems but also guides users through the main functionality of the modelling programs. Despite the apparent simplicity of this exercise, users will experience most of the challenges and opportunities common to thermal history modeling, including: how to enter data; error handling; how to use geologic constraints in t-T space; the non-unique nature of cooling ages; the power of grain size and eU variability; the limitations on a model’s ability to resolve the ‘right’ rock thermal history; and how to evaluate the sensitivity of model results to all these factors. These exercises were introduced in the Thermo2020/1 Sunday workshops for both QTQt and HeFTy and are more fully fleshed out in two publications currently in preparation.

Since initially developing laser ablation (U-Th)/He procedures for high-spatial-resolution dating of monazite more than a decade ago, our research group has refined the technique to the point that laser ablation dating of apatite, titanite, and zircon is now routine in the Arizona State University (Group 18) laboratories. We are actively exploring applications to additional minerals. Compared to conventional single-crystal (U-Th)/He dating, the laser ablation alternative offers some important advantages. Following appropriate analytical protocols, laser ablation dates require no alpha ejection corrections. In principle, most factors commonly believed to cause high apparent age dispersion in conventional datasets – parent element zoning, alpha particle implantation, and the presence of high-(U+Th) inclusions – can be mitigated using the laser ablation method. Analytical throughput is greatly enhanced compared to the conventional method because sample dissolution is not required for U+Th+Sm analysis. This is especially beneficial for detrital studies; in this presentation, we review examples of Group 18 research involving (U-Th)/He and U/Pb laser ablation double dating of detrital apatite and zircon. The principal limitations to the method are that: 1) relatively large grain sizes (≥ 100 μm) are sometimes required for especially young or low-(U-Th) materials; and 2) analytical uncertainties for these materials can be as much as a factor of two larger for laser ablation dates than for conventional dates due to a combination of the much smaller masses analyzed and uncertainties in the U, Th, and Sm concentrations of available appropriate standards. Frontier applications of this technology advance our understanding of the intracrystalline distribution of radiogenic 4He in accessory minerals. Here we show examples of both two-dimensional mapping of 4He in polished crystal interiors and one-dimensional depth profiling as practiced in the Group 18 laboratories. Zoning in 4He is very common in older crystals, and 4He distribution patterns can be much more complex than what might be expected simply from alpha ejection or grain-scale diffusive loss during cooling. Much of this complexity reflects non-concentric zoning in parent elements and, for older crystals, spatially variable radiation damage that results in spatially variable 4He diffusivity. The potential impacts of such phenomena on thermal and exhumation history modeling argue for a greater reliance on microanalytical procedures in (U-Th)/He thermochronology moving forward.

Exhumation in continental and oceanic arc settings is linked to tectonic and climatic forces that result in some of the highest topography and erosion rates in the world. Regional exhumation studies of oceanic arcs are sparse due to poor exposure, accessibility, complex inherited structures, and thermal overprinting due to magmatism, reburial, and metamorphism. In contrast, the Aleutian arc has an unusually thick crust, exceptional subaerial exposure of plutons, and limited regional thermal overprinting, providing the ideal conditions for a systematic thermochronology study that investigates the mechanisms that lead to arc exhumation. By analyzing multiple chronometers (apatite and zircon (U-Th)/He, zircon U-Pb) with different temperature sensitivities within the same plutonic sample, we can constrain uplift and erosion rates over ~40 million years of Aleutian arc history. Here, we present preliminary apatite and zircon (U-Th)/He ages from 23 plutonic samples from the islands of Unalaska, Umnak, Atka, Ilak, and Amatignak. These data are part of a larger study where we will analyze a total of 78 samples collected from 11 plutons along >1400 km of the Central Aleutian Islands. Ultimately, this dataset will provide a regional framework to quantitatively assess the various proposed mechanisms for Aleutian arc exhumation, such as; 10° Pacific plate rotation, subduction of the Kula ridge, and/or pluton emplacement, each of which has predictable and testable geographic age trends. The samples analyzed are from plutons that crystallized in the Oligocene to Miocene based on zircon U-Pb dating. Both zircon and apatite (U-Th)/He ages also show an Oligocene to Miocene spread, with a majority of the ages from both chronometers pooling at 7-13 Ma and no particular geographic trend. These preliminary results suggest that a significant exhumation event occurred in the late Miocene, as has been observed in other circum-Pacific arcs. These preliminary data may support the hypothesis that the late Miocene pulse of high plutonism in the Aleutian Islands led to arc exhumation. However, additional samples need to be analyzed to provide an arc-scale view of exhumation timing, trends, and rates of the Central Aleutian arc in order to test possible uplift and erosion scenarios.

The 17th International Conference on Thermochronology (Thermo2021) was held in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on September 12-17, 2021. This bi-annual conference series evolved via the coalescence of the International Workshops on Fission Track Thermochronology, held since 1978, and the European Workshops on Thermochronology. It has become the premier forum for thermochronology practitioners and users to discuss fundamental and methodological topics and opportunities related to their science and its future. Each conference is independently organized, and a Standing Committee consisting of past organizers and other community members helps to ensure their continuation into the future. Thermo2021 was greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Normally the meeting would have been expected to draw ~250 attendees, but travel restrictions limited in-person attendance to 86, plus 21 remote presenters. Nearly all in-person participants were from the US, and only four were international. Talks and posters were distributed among five themes: (U-Th)/He; fission track; other thermochronometers; frontiers in data handling, statistics, interpretation methods, and modeling; and integration and interpretation. Although COVID-19 presented many challenges, it also allowed the Organizing Committee to adapt creatively and transform adversity into opportunity. In particular, the smaller number of attendees permitted more talks by students and early-career scientists, both within the theme sessions and in the Charles & Nancy Naeser Early Career Session. Discussion time was prioritized: at a Tuesday evening “swap meet” for ideas, in 30-40-minute time slots within each theme session, and in Friday afternoon breakouts for the first four themes and another dedicated to early career and DEI issues. These were used to identify emergent ideas and concerns across a broad range of topics, from the theory and practice of the various thermochronometric techniques, to their interpretation through thermal history modeling and other methods, to anticipated trends in data dissemination and management, to the needs of the next generation of thermochronologists, particularly in the US. Each Friday breakout designated a scribe who recorded the discussion and distributed their notes. Each group then designated one or more writers to transform the notes into text for this White Paper. Notes or early write-up versions were provided to the international thermochronology community, and feedback solicited. In addition, cross-cutting themes that occurred across multiple breakout groups were identified and compiled. This White Paper is the outcome of these efforts. We hope that it will serve as a record for the meeting, and an overview of where the predominantly US-based component of the thermochronology community considers the current state of knowledge to be and where future efforts should be directed, for developing both the science and its human infrastructure.

The thermochronological method was applied to metamorphic rocks distributed in eastern Nepal to elucidate the denudation process of the upper-crust of the continental collision zone. New results of systematic fission-track (FT) age dating and FT length measurements of zircon and apatite were utilized in the thermochronological inverse analysis to reconstruct the time-temperature (t-T) paths in the temperature range of 60–350°C. Eight t-T paths obtained along the across-strike section in eastern Nepal showed that the cooling process of the metamorphic rocks are characterized by 1) gradual cooling (<30°C/Myr) followed by rapid cooling (~150°C/Myr) and subsequent gradual cooling (gradual-rapid-gradual cooling: GRG cooling), 2) northward-younging of the timing of the rapid cooling since ca. 9 Ma. The observed FT ages and t-T paths were then compared with the FT ages and t-T paths obtained by forward calculations using 3-D thermokinematic models to test the following four tectono-thermal models which have been proposed in the Central and Eastern Himalayas: 1) The denudation of the upper-crust is associated with the movement of the plate boundary fault (Main Himalayan Thrust: MHT) showing flat geometry (the Flat MHT model) and 2) flat-ramp-flat geometry (the Flat-Ramp-Flat MHT model), 3) the denudation of the upper-crust is mainly controlled by the focused uplift associated with the growth of the Lesser Himalayan Duplex (the Duplex 01-03 model) or 4) slip of the splay fault of the MHT (the Splay Fault model). As a result, only the Flat-Ramp-Flat MHT model reconstructed similar t-T paths and age distribution patterns obtained from eastern Nepal. This suggests that the observed FT ages and t-T paths reflect a denudation process driven by the movement of the MHT showing a flat-ramp-flat geometry. The GRG cooling and the northward-younging of the timing of rapid cooling indicate that the flat-ramp-flat geometry of the MHT was established by ca. 9 Ma and has been stable thereafter. The result of the thermokinematic inverse analysis also indicates that the denudation rate and its spatial distribution have been stable since ca. 9 Ma.

We report a new series of step-etch experiments to reveal the influence of microscopy technique on track selection bias. Two different aliquots of induced tracks in Durango apatite were etched for 10-15-20-25-30s and for 20-25-30s in 5.5M HNO3 at 21°C. Three different track selection criteria were applied after the initial etch step of the etching procedure: (1) all tracks with reasonable measurability under transmitted and reflected light switch with 100x objective and 2.5X optovar magnification; (2) ”fully etched” tracks under transmitted light with 100x objective; and (3) ”fully etched” tracks under reflected light with 100x objective. Approach 1 was applied to both aliquots and the approaches 2 and 3 to the latter aliquot. Comparing the mean track lengths, approaches 2 and 3 result in similar values over all experiments, while approach 1 provides a ~0.4 μm higher in the first aliquot and ~0.3 μm lower in the second aliquot than approach 2 and 3 due to higher and lower variations of effective etch times. Comparing the c-axis angles, in the 0-30° range approach 3 provides a severely reduced fraction of tracks due to their weak appearance under reflected light. Furthermore, approach 2 provides ~%14 lower track densities comparing with approaches 1 and 3. We recommend using both transmitted and reflected light during entire track selection and measurement procedures. We are working to develop a new 2+-step etching procedure, where tracks are located after 10s of etching but measured after a second 10s etch step, resulting in better-controlled etching times while reducing the bias associated with analyst choice. Furthermore, this two-step etching procedure can be iterated for more etch-steps, by identifying newly-appeared tracks after each etch step and etching them for 10s more, to increase the number of measured tracks while maintaining consistent selection criteria.

The zircon (U-Th)/He (ZHe) system with a typical closure temperature of ~160-200°C*1, but lower for higher radiation damaged grains*2, offers the potential for evaluating thermal histories in the uppermost ~10 km of the crust. ZHe thermochronometry has been applied to different geological settings in order to estimate tectonics, uplift and denudation, basin evolution, etc.*3, which can also contribute to evaluating long-term tectonic stabilities for the geologic disposal project. So far, the effectivity of ZHe thermochronology has been verified, however improved age standards for the method are required. To date, the method has conventionally employed zircon fission-track age standards such as the Fish Canyon Tuff (FCT) zircon*4. ZHe grain ages are sometimes over-dispersed owing to factors such as zoning of parent nuclei, radiation damage, grain size and He-bearing inclusions*2,5. Considerable parent isotope zonation was reported in some FCT crystals*6, inviting a search for alternative potential ZHe standards*7,8,9. These works reported robust ZHe data with little age dispersion because of homogeneous U-Th distribution in zircon megacrysts, making them possible reference material candidates. However, a practical issue remains because ZHe analyses of unknown samples are carried out grain-by-grain as opposed to analyzing large pieces of a single grain. We have attempted to assess suitable zircon samples as ZHe age standards by using rapid cooling rock samples of relatively young (<100 Ma) age. This is because such rock samples are expected to empirically exhibit simple thermal histories and little radiation damage. Therefore, age dispersion caused by radiation damage can be relatively small. In order to reassess previous data obtained by Tagami et al. (2003)*10, ZHe analyses of the Pliocene Utaosa rhyolite (TRG-04 and -07) and the Miocene Buluk Tuff have been carried out. In addition, OD-3 zircon*11, a zircon U-Pb age standard, was also analyzed. In this presentation, preliminary ZHe age data from these samples will be presented and compared to evaluate their suitability as ZHe reference materials e.g., FCT. References 1: Reiners et al. (2004), Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 68, p. 1857–1887 2: Guenthner et al. (2013), Am. J. Sci., 313, p. 145–198 3: Ault et al. (2019), Tectonics, 38, p. 3705–3739 4: Gleadow et al. (2015), Earth Planet Sci. Lett., 424, p. 95–108 5: Danišík et al. (2017), Sci. Adv., 3, p. 1–9 6: Dobson et al. (2008), Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 72, p4745–4755 7: Li et al. (2017), Geostand. Geoanal. Res., 41, p. 359–365 8: Yu et al. (2020), Geostand. Geoanal. Res., 44, p. 763–783 9: Kirkland et al. (2020), Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 274, p. 1–19 10:Tagami et al. (2003), Earth Planet Sci. Lett., 207, p. 57–67 11:Iwano et al. (2013), Isl. Arc, 22, p. 382–394 Acknowledgements This study was supported by the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) of Japan.

Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) thermochronometry is a tool for constraining cooling histories in low-temperature domains (several tens of degree Celsius) during the past 104–105 years [1][2][3]. This method is currently applied only to rapidly denuded regions (~5mm/yr when a general geothermal gradient in is assumed to be ~0.03℃/m) because luminescence signals in slowly denuded regions saturate before the rocks are exhumated to the surface. However, cooling histories in slowly denuded regions may be constrained if unsaturated samples are obtained from deep boreholes. In addition, using deep borehole core enable to compare the results between samples at multiple depths, which is useful to isolate the denudation history from other events, such as faulting or hydrothermal activity. We applied multi-OSL-thermochronometry [2] to the deep borehole core drilled at the Rokko Mountains, Japan, where slow denudation rates (0.1-1.0 mm/yr) are expected from previous studies [4][5][6]. We used the Kabutoyama core collected by National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience [5][7]. The total length of Kabutoyama core is 1,313 m and we collected the samples at 408, 642, 818 and 1048 m for OSL-thermochronometry. Our results showed that useful thermal information can be extracted from the infrared stimulated luminescence signals of samples collected at depths ≥408 m. We found that the sample temperatures remained around the present ambient temperature at each depth for the last 0.1 Myr, indicating that the Rokko Mountains is topographically stable, which was consistent with previous findings. Thus, the thermal denudation history of slowly denuded regions may be constrained by multi-OSL-thermochronometry using samples from deep borehole cores. However, the denudation rates in the Rokko Mountains were too low and could not be determined by this method. Further research is required to quantify the denudation rate. This study was funded by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Japan as part of its R&D supporting program titled “Establishment of Advanced Technology for Evaluating the Long-term Geosphere Stability on Geological Disposal Project of Radioactive Waste (Fiscal Years 2019-2021)”. References: [1] Herman et al. (2010). Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 297, 183-189; [2] King et al. (2016). Quaternary Geochronology, 33, 76-87; [3] Herman and King (2018). Elements, 14, 33-38; [4] Huzita (1968). The Quaternary Research, 7, 248-260; [5] Sueoka et al. (2010). Journal of Geography, 119, 84-101; [6] Matsuhi et al. (2014). Transactions, Japanese Geomorphological Union, 35, 165-185; [7] Yamada et al. (2012). Technical Note of the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention, 371, 27p.

The “Laramide-style” uplifts of North America—characterized by blocks of Proterozoic-Archean basement that were exhumed along reverse faults within the Cordilleran foreland basin—are widely interpreted to be a result of flat-slab subduction of oceanic lithosphere beneath the continent. Despite this general consensus, the causal mechanisms of basement-cored uplifts remain unclear. Assessment of the hotly debated geodynamic models that relate flat-slab subduction and upper crustal deformation hinge on the availability of accurate estimates for the timing of exhumation of Laramide uplifts. A major problem with current models is that they do not incorporate timing constraints from the Laramide region of central Montana. This region represents the northernmost extent of Laramide deformation and timing constraints are critically needed to enhance our understanding of how stress is transmitted inboard during flat-slab subduction. We present the first low-temperature thermochronological ages from the Little Belt Mountains (LBM) of central Montana, which is the northernmost Laramide-style uplift with exposed basement gneisses. Apatite fission track ages ranging from ca. 90-70 Ma suggest that the core of the LBM was exhumed through the 120-60°C apatite partial annealing zone in the Late Cretaceous. These ages corroborate recent low-T thermochronology and sedimentological work that propose an earlier than previously recognized onset of Laramide deformation in southwestern Montana and eastern Idaho (>80 Ma), but additional data are needed to reduce the uncertainty between ages and ascertain the exhumation history of the LBM. To this end, we will integrate new low-temperature thermochronology (<150°C) and associated thermal history models in order to constrain the Cretaceous tectonic evolution of the LBM and the extent of Laramide deformation in the western USA.

The São Francisco Craton (SFC) and its marginal Araçuaí and Brasília orogens exhibit a significant diversity in their lithospheric architecture. These orogens were shaped during the Neoproterozoic–Cambrian amalgamation of West Gondwana. The rigid cratonic lithosphere of the SFC and the relatively weak lithosphere of the Araçuaí Orogen were disrupted during the Cretaceous opening of the South Atlantic Ocean, whereas the Brasília Orogen remained in the continental hinterland. In earlier research, the thermal effects of the Phanerozoic reactivations in the shallow crust of the Araçuaí Orogen have been revealed by low-temperature thermochronology, mainly by apatite fission track (AFT) analysis. However, analyses from the continental interior are scarce. We present new AFT data from forty-three samples from the Brasília Orogen, the SFC and the Araçuaí Orogen, far from the passive margin of the Atlantic coast (~150 to 800 km). Three main periods of basement exhumation were identified: (i) Paleozoic, recorded both by samples from the SFC and Brasília Orogen; (ii) Early Cretaceous to Cenomanian, recorded by samples from the Araçuaí Orogen; and (iii) Late Cretaceous to Paleocene, inferred in samples from all domains. We compare the differential exhumation pattern of the different geotectonic provinces with their lithospheric strengths. We suggest that the SFC likely concentrated the Meso-Cenozoic reactivations in narrow weak zones while the Araçuaí Orogen displayed a far-reaching Meso-Cenozoic deformation. The Brasília Orogen seems to be an example of a stronger orogenic lithosphere, inhibiting reworking, confirmed by our new AFT data. Understanding the role of the lithosphere rigidity may be decisive to comprehend the processes of differential denudation and the tectonic–morphological evolution over Phanerozoic events.