A New Mica Reference Material (Shidao) for in situ Rb-Sr Dating

Abstract

The advantage of laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma tandem mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS/MS) allows in situ Rb-Sr dating of mica, but well-characterized reference materials are scarce. Here, we present Shidao, a natural biotite from the Mesozoic Shidao quartz syenite intrusion in the Sulu Orogenic Belt, China, as a reference material for in situ mica Rb-Sr geochronology. The Shidao biotite exhibits homogeneous major element compositions but highly variable Rb contents (867 ppm–1 955 ppm), yielding a wide range of Rb/Sr ratios (216–1 970), making it well suited for isochron age calculation. Using isotope dilution thermal ionization mass spectrometry (ID-TIMS), we obtained a Rb-Sr isochron age of 210.0 ± 1.1 Ma, which is consistent with the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar plateau age of 209.0 ± 1.2 Ma within the uncertainty. A notable feature of Shidao biotite is its highly variable ⁸⁷Rb/⁸⁶ Sr ratios (up to 5 000), which provides a broader dynamic range than the widely-used reference material ZBH-25 (less than 500). Our results further demonstrate that matrix effects between natural mica and the pressed powder pellet of the primary calibration reference material Mica-Mg-NP during LA-ICP-MS/MS analysis introduce a systematic bias. However, the bias was consistent within the same analytical session and could be effectively corrected via secondary calibration using another known age reference material. After secondary calibration by ZBH-25, in situ Rb-Sr isochron ages of Shidao, an unknown sample obtained in two independent laboratories, agreed with the ID-TIMS Rb-Sr and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages. These findings show that Shidao is a reliable reference material for correcting matrix-related analytical effects and validating the accuracy of in situ mica Rb-Sr dating.

Keywords

in situ mica Rb-Sr dating / mica reference material / LA-ICP-MS/MS / matrix effect / biotite / geochemistry

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