Rb–Sr and K–Ar systems of biotite in surface environments regulated by weathering processes with implications for isotopic dating and hydrological cycles of Sr isotopes

Biotite is widely used for Rb–Sr and K–Ar isotopic dating and influences Sr isotope geochemistry of hydrological regimes. The isotopic system of biotite behaves diversely in response to surface weathering; i.e. the complete preservation of original Rb–Sr and K–Ar isotopic ages or dramatic reduction. In this study, we have explored the relation between the behavior of isotopic systems and complex weathering processes of biotites in the weathering profiles distributed on the Mesozoic granitoids in South Korea. In the lower parts of the profiles, biotite in the early stages of weathering was transformed into either oxidized biotite or hydrobiotite, with a mass release of 87Sr and 40Ar forced by the rapid oxidation of ferrous iron. During the transformation to oxidized biotite, 87Sr and 40Ar were preferentially released relative to Rb and K, respectively, via solid-state diffusion through the biotite lattice, resulting in a drastic reduction of original isotopic age. The reduction of Rb–Sr age was greater than that of K–Ar age because K was preferentially released over Rb whereas 87Sr and 40Ar were released proportionally to each other. However, during the transformation of biotite to hydrobiotite (i.e., to regularly interstratified biotite-vermiculite), 87Sr, Rb, 40Ar, and K were completely retained in the alternating biotite interlayer, and thus the original isotopic age can be preserved. In the upper parts of the profiles, where iron oxidation was almost completed, 87Sr, Rb, 40Ar, and K were gradually and proportionally released, with no further significant change in isotopic age during the gradual transformation of the early-formed oxidized biotite into hydrobiotite and vermiculite or during their final decomposition to kaolinite. The ratios and amounts of isotopes released from weathered biotites are dependent upon the degree of iron oxidation and the pathways of mineralogical transformation. Regional and local variations in isotopic systems affected by particular weathering processes should be considered when dating biotite or biotite-bearing rocks in weathering environments, modeling the transfer of Sr isotopes to hydrologic regimes, and tracking the provenance of sediments.