In situ cosmogenic ¹⁰Be in pyroxene with an application to surface exposure dating
Cosmogenic nuclides are an important tool in quantifying many Earth-surface processes. Beryllium-10 (¹⁰Be) is commonly extracted out of the mineral quartz; however many landscapes lack quartz bearing rocks. In order to establish a new chronometer based on ¹⁰Be in pyroxene for use in New Zealand and...
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ftvuwellington:oai:researcharchive.vuw.ac.nz:10063/4851 2023-08-15T12:38:48+02:00 In situ cosmogenic ¹⁰Be in pyroxene with an application to surface exposure dating Collins, Julia Anne Norton, Kevin Mackintosh, Andrew 2015 http://researcharchive.vuw.ac.nz/handle/10063/4851 en_NZ eng Victoria University of Wellington http://researcharchive.vuw.ac.nz/handle/10063/4851 Cosmogenic ¹⁰Be Pyroxene Text Master's 2015 ftvuwellington 2023-07-25T17:25:33Z Cosmogenic nuclides are an important tool in quantifying many Earth-surface processes. Beryllium-10 (¹⁰Be) is commonly extracted out of the mineral quartz; however many landscapes lack quartz bearing rocks. In order to establish a new chronometer based on ¹⁰Be in pyroxene for use in New Zealand and Antarctica, it is necessary to verify cleaning protocols and determine a local production rate. In this study, I have tested and modified an existing pyroxene decontamination procedure in order to further develop the use of ¹⁰Be in pyroxene as a chronometer. This method successfully removes the meteoric component of ¹⁰Be in pyroxene, allowing only the concentration of in situ produced ¹⁰Be to be measured. Additionally, production rates for ¹⁰Be in pyroxene have been determined empirically for New Zealand using cross-calibration with measured ³He concentrations and an independent radiocarbon age of the Murimotu debris avalanche in the central North Island, New Zealand of 10.6 ± 1.1 ka. Theoretical ¹⁰Be pyroxene production rates were also determined, based on the composition of the Murimotu pyroxene. The best estimate for the 10Be pyroxene production rate is 3.4 ± 0.8 atoms g⁻¹ yr⁻¹ at sea-level high latitude, which was determined via cross-calibration with the radiocarbon age for the deposit. This work shows that production rates for ¹⁰Be in pyroxene are both empirically and theoretically 8-27% lower than in quartz. The ³He/¹⁰Be ratio in the Murimotu pyroxene is 34.5 ± 9.9; this is indistinguishable from global ³He-pyroxene/¹⁰Be-quartz production ratios. In a case study surface exposure ages were determined for bedrock samples and cobble erratics collected in a vertical transect on Mount Gran, Antarctica, by applying the aforementioned ¹⁰Be pyroxene decontamination procedure and radiocarbon derived production rates. A chronology for ice surface lowering was obtained for the adjacent Mackay Glacier, indicating the ice surface lowered approximately 60 m during a relatively rapid episode of thinning which occurred between ... Master Thesis Antarc* Antarctica Victoria University of Wellington: ResearchArchive Mackay ENVELOPE(168.517,168.517,-77.700,-77.700) Mackay Glacier ENVELOPE(162.000,162.000,-76.967,-76.967) Mount Gran ENVELOPE(160.967,160.967,-76.983,-76.983) New Zealand |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Victoria University of Wellington: ResearchArchive |
op_collection_id |
ftvuwellington |
language |
English |
topic |
Cosmogenic ¹⁰Be Pyroxene |
spellingShingle |
Cosmogenic ¹⁰Be Pyroxene Collins, Julia Anne In situ cosmogenic ¹⁰Be in pyroxene with an application to surface exposure dating |
topic_facet |
Cosmogenic ¹⁰Be Pyroxene |
description |
Cosmogenic nuclides are an important tool in quantifying many Earth-surface processes. Beryllium-10 (¹⁰Be) is commonly extracted out of the mineral quartz; however many landscapes lack quartz bearing rocks. In order to establish a new chronometer based on ¹⁰Be in pyroxene for use in New Zealand and Antarctica, it is necessary to verify cleaning protocols and determine a local production rate. In this study, I have tested and modified an existing pyroxene decontamination procedure in order to further develop the use of ¹⁰Be in pyroxene as a chronometer. This method successfully removes the meteoric component of ¹⁰Be in pyroxene, allowing only the concentration of in situ produced ¹⁰Be to be measured. Additionally, production rates for ¹⁰Be in pyroxene have been determined empirically for New Zealand using cross-calibration with measured ³He concentrations and an independent radiocarbon age of the Murimotu debris avalanche in the central North Island, New Zealand of 10.6 ± 1.1 ka. Theoretical ¹⁰Be pyroxene production rates were also determined, based on the composition of the Murimotu pyroxene. The best estimate for the 10Be pyroxene production rate is 3.4 ± 0.8 atoms g⁻¹ yr⁻¹ at sea-level high latitude, which was determined via cross-calibration with the radiocarbon age for the deposit. This work shows that production rates for ¹⁰Be in pyroxene are both empirically and theoretically 8-27% lower than in quartz. The ³He/¹⁰Be ratio in the Murimotu pyroxene is 34.5 ± 9.9; this is indistinguishable from global ³He-pyroxene/¹⁰Be-quartz production ratios. In a case study surface exposure ages were determined for bedrock samples and cobble erratics collected in a vertical transect on Mount Gran, Antarctica, by applying the aforementioned ¹⁰Be pyroxene decontamination procedure and radiocarbon derived production rates. A chronology for ice surface lowering was obtained for the adjacent Mackay Glacier, indicating the ice surface lowered approximately 60 m during a relatively rapid episode of thinning which occurred between ... |
author2 |
Norton, Kevin Mackintosh, Andrew |
format |
Master Thesis |
author |
Collins, Julia Anne |
author_facet |
Collins, Julia Anne |
author_sort |
Collins, Julia Anne |
title |
In situ cosmogenic ¹⁰Be in pyroxene with an application to surface exposure dating |
title_short |
In situ cosmogenic ¹⁰Be in pyroxene with an application to surface exposure dating |
title_full |
In situ cosmogenic ¹⁰Be in pyroxene with an application to surface exposure dating |
title_fullStr |
In situ cosmogenic ¹⁰Be in pyroxene with an application to surface exposure dating |
title_full_unstemmed |
In situ cosmogenic ¹⁰Be in pyroxene with an application to surface exposure dating |
title_sort |
in situ cosmogenic ¹⁰be in pyroxene with an application to surface exposure dating |
publisher |
Victoria University of Wellington |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
http://researcharchive.vuw.ac.nz/handle/10063/4851 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(168.517,168.517,-77.700,-77.700) ENVELOPE(162.000,162.000,-76.967,-76.967) ENVELOPE(160.967,160.967,-76.983,-76.983) |
geographic |
Mackay Mackay Glacier Mount Gran New Zealand |
geographic_facet |
Mackay Mackay Glacier Mount Gran New Zealand |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctica |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctica |
op_relation |
http://researcharchive.vuw.ac.nz/handle/10063/4851 |
_version_ |
1774300247109926912 |