Xenon compositions of magmatic zircons in 3.64 and 3.81 Ga meta-granitoids from Greenland - a search for extinct 244 Pu in ancient terrestrial rocks

• Main Authors: Honda, Masahiko, Nutman, Allen, Bennett, Victoria
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Elsevier 2015
• Subjects: Keywords: Archean; early Earth; granitoid; noble gas; paleoatmosphere; xenon; zircon; Greenland Atmospheric evolution; Early Archaean; Fission xenon; Noble gases; Pu-244; Ameralik; Greenland; Ameralik fjord
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1885/88337

In order to solve the fundamental problem as to whether the extinct radioactive isotope 244Pu was present in the early Earth, we have analysed xenon in magmatic zircons from three early Archaean meta-granitoids from Greenland. Two samples, a granite (sample G97/111) and a ferrogabbro/ferrodiorite (s...