Zircon OD-3 from the Paleogene Kawamoto Granodiorite (Mihara body) in Japan has been identified as a potential multi-grain secondary standard for U-Pb dating. We have carried out an inter-laboratory evaluation in order to evaluate possible heterogeneity amongst the OD-3 zircon grains. U-Pb ages were obtained using two analytical techniques (a sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe and a laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry) in eight laboratories. All the 238 U-206 Pb ages show good agreement, with an overall weighted average 238 U-206 Pb age of 33.0 Ϯ 0.1 Ma (2s). The U-Pb age results revealed no significant variation or heterogeneity in the U-Pb ages of the OD-3 grains. Twelve fission-track (FT) ages from three laboratories are also reported, and have a weighted average of 32.6 Ϯ 0.6 Ma (2s). Despite the different closure and annealing temperatures of the U-Pb and FT chronometers, respectively, the FT age is in good agreement with the U-Pb age. This suggests that the OD-3 zircon had a relatively fast cooling history and has not experienced later thermal annealing. The chronological dataset reported here clearly demonstrates that the OD-3 zircon could be a useful and reliable secondary standard for use during U-Pb dating studies of Cenozoic zircons.
Although the quest for Earth's oldest rock is of great importance, identifying the youngest exposed pluton on Earth is also of interest. A pluton is a body of intrusive igneous rock that crystallized from slowly cooling magma at depths of several kilometers beneath the surface of the Earth. Therefore, the youngest exposed pluton represents the most recent tectonic uplift and highest exhumation. The youngest exposed pluton reported to date is the Takidani Granodiorite (~ 1.4 Ma) in the Hida Mountain Range of central Japan. Using LA-ICP-MS and SHRIMP U-Pb zircon dating methods, this study demonstrates that the Kurobegawa Granite, also situated in the Hida Mountain Range, is as young as ~ 0.8 Ma. In addition, data indicate multiple intrusion episodes in this pluton since 10 Ma with a ~ 2-million-year period of quiescence; hence, a future intrusion event is likely within 1 million years.
that distinguish it from the rest of the system. Geochemical modelling indicates that magmatic differentiation through crystal fractionation and minor crustal assimilation occurred in crustal and shallow sub-volcanic magma reservoirs. In the central part of the system, a number of vertically spaced reservoirs acted as a filter, capturing basaltic dykes and hindering their ascent. In the outer region, dykes either reached the surface unhindered and erupted to form the basaltic/trachybasaltic succession or stalled at crustal levels and differentiated to trachyte before forming dispersed domes/flows. The central plumbing system "filter" resulted in a nest-shaped volcano, with a trachytic core surrounded by basaltic products, and stopped direct injection of basaltic magmas into the shallow syenitic magma reservoir, likely preventing its destabilization and explosive eruption.
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