Cosmogenic 3He and 21Ne dating of biotite and hornblende

Stable cosmogenic isotopes such as 3He and 21Ne are useful for dating of diverse lithologies, quantifying erosion rates and ages of ancient surfaces and sediments, and for assessing complex burial histories. Although many minerals are potentially suitable targets for 3He and 21Ne dating, complex production systematics require calibration of each mineral–isotope pair. We present new results from a drill core in a high-elevation ignimbrite surface, which demonstrates that cosmogenic 3He and 21Ne can be readily measured in biotite and hornblende. 21Ne production rates in hornblende and biotite are similar, and are higher than that in quartz due to production from light elements such as Mg and Al. We measure 21Nehbl/21Neqtz = 1.35 ± 0.03 and 21Nebio/21Neqtz = 1.3 ± 0.02, which yield production rates of 25.6 ± 3.0 and 24.7 ± 2.9 at g− 1 yr− 1 relative to a 21Neqtz production rate of 19.0 ± 1.8 at g− 1 yr− 1. We show that nucleogenic 21Ne concentrations produced via the reaction 18O(α,n)21Ne are manageably small in this setting, and we present a new approach to deconvolve nucleogenic 21Ne by comparison to nucleogenic 22Ne produced from the reaction 19F(α,n)22Ne in F-rich phases such as biotite. Our results show that hornblende is a suitable target phase for cosmogenic 3He dating, but that 3He is lost from biotite at Earth surface temperatures. Comparison of 3He concentrations in hornblende with previously measured mineral phases such as apatite and zircon provides unambiguous evidence for 3He production via the reaction 6Li(n,α)3H → 3He. Due to the atypically high Li content in the hornblende (~ 160 ppm) we estimate that Li-produced 3He represents ~ 40% of total 3He production in our samples, and must be considered on a sample-specific basis if 3He dating in hornblende is to be widely implemented.

► Cosmogenic 3He and 21Ne can be measured in hornblende and biotite.
► 21Ne production rates are ~25.6 and ~24.7 at g− 1 yr− 1 in hornblende and biotite.
► Li-produced 3He accounts for ~ 40% of 3He in these Li-rich hornblendes.