Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) U-Pb carbonate geochronology: strategies, progress, and limitations

Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) U–Pb geochronology of carbonate minerals, calcite in particular, is rapidly gaining popularity as an absolute dating method. The high spatial resolution of LA-ICP-MS U–Pb carbonate geochronology has benefits over traditional isotope dilution methods, particularly for diagenetic and hydrothermal calcite, because uranium and lead are heterogeneously distributed on the sub-millimetre scale. At the same time, this can provide limitations to the method, as locating zones of radiogenic lead can be time-consuming and “hit or miss”. Here, we present strategies for dating carbonates with in situ techniques, through imaging and petrographic techniques to data interpretation; our examples are drawn from the dating of fracture-filling calcite, but our discussion is relevant to all carbonate applications. We review several limitations to the method, including open-system behaviour, variable initial-lead compositions, and U–daughter disequilibrium. We also discuss two approaches to data collection: traditional spot analyses guided by petrographic and elemental imaging and image-based dating that utilises LA-ICP-MS elemental and isotopic map data.