Establishment of a community-wide 252Cf source for enhancing production of confined track-lengths for apatite fission track thermochronology
Final Report Abstract
The goal of this project was to construct a laboratory apparatus for irradiating apatite fission track samples with fission fragments. These are derived from a 252Cf radioactive source. The source is used under vacuum and is located behind sufficient shielding such that there is no danger of exposure from radioactivity. The entire apparatus is stored in a secure room. The reason for building this equipment is to enhance the number of confined fission tracks that can be measured in apatite crystals. This information is used for thermal modeling. With the help of a large number of confined fission track measurements, one can make an inverse thermal model which shows the cooling path of a sample through the temperature range of ~120-60°C; this corresponds to a geological sample cooling through the upper 3-5 km of the crust. Such cooling often reflects a combination of tectonic forces and climatically-influenced erosion. Therefore, the rational for this project is to improve apatite fission track thermochronologic data collection to enable better modeling of upper-crustal scale tectonic and climatic interactions. The facility is now available to all German laboratories that conduct apatite fission track analysis.
