In situ simultaneous determination of trace elements, U-Pb and Lu-Hf isotopes in zircon and baddeleyite

This paper describes a combined method of simultaneously measuring U-Pb and Lu-Hf isotopes as well as trace elements in Phalaborwa baddeleyite and 91500, GJ-1, TEMORA-1 and SK10-2 zircons by means of Neptune MC-ICPMS and Agilent Q-ICPMS connected to a 193 nm excimer laser ablation system. Material ablated by laser was carried in different proportions into Q-ICPMS for U-Pb isotopic and trace elemental and MC-ICPMS for Lu-Hf isotopic compositions. Experiments indicate that different proportions of ablated material for the Q-ICPMS and MC-ICPMS (6:4, 5:5 and 4:6 respectively) do not show any bias for the zircon/baddeleyite U-Pb age, Lu-Hf isotope and trace elemental compositions within analytical errors. Using 40–60 μm spot size, the obtained U-Pb ages of Phalaborwa baddeleyite, 91500, GJ-1, TEMORA and SK10-2 zircons are 2065±15 (2σ, n=20), 1063±6 (2σ, n=19), 613±6 (2σ, n=20), 416±5 (2σ, n=20) and 32.6±0.5 (2σ, n=20) Ma, respectively. The ¹⁷⁶Hf/¹⁷⁷Hf ratios are 0.281231±24 (2SD, n=20), 0.282310±35 (2SD, n=19), 0.282028±34 (2SD, n=20), 0.282687±34 (2SD, n=20) and 0.282752±53 (2SD, n=20), respectively. The obtained trace elemental compositions are identical to the reference values. Therefore, this kind of technique makes it possible to simultaneously obtain the U-Pb age, Lu-Hf isotopes and trace elemental compositions of zircon and baddeleyite, which could be an important tool in solving problems in earth sciences. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 40325006)