Studies of this mineral have been used to show that water was present during the Late Heavy Bombardment.
Studies of this mineral have been used to show that water was present during the Late Heavy Bombardment. It's not apatite, but metamictization in this mineral makes it particularly suited to fission-track dating, and enables uranium-thorium-helium thermochronometry. Classifying these minerals in granitic rocks by their prismatic and pyramidal qualities yields a classification that may solve the problem of polygenetic granite. Since hafnium strongly partitions into this mineral, lutetium-hafnium dating of this mineral is used to determine the time at which crust first formed. Concordia diagrams for this mineral are used to set a lower bound on the earliest date of petrogenesis. Samples of this mineral found in Jack Hills are the oldest known minerals. FTP, name this silicate mineral from which metallic zirconium is produced.
Studies of this mineral have been used to show that water was present during the Late Heavy Bombardment.
zircons [do not accept "zirconium"]