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Cosmogenic 21Ne concentrations and exposure ages of summit bedrocks in the Grove Mountains, Antarctica

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Abstract

Various sources of 21Ne and 22Ne exist in surface rocks: cosmogenic, in situ nucleogenic from internal U and Th, trapped crustal nucleogenic and trapped atmospheric. This paper reports the first measurement, in China, of cosmogenic 21Ne and 22Ne in surface bedrocks. We developed a unique sample pre-treatment procedure that effectively removed inclusions inside quartz grains, and thus maximally reduced nucleogenic contributions of 21Ne and 22Ne. Step-heating experiments show that concentrations of cosmogenic 21Ne and 22Ne in summit bedrock samples R9202 and R9203 from Grove Mountains, Antarctica, are (3.83±0.87)×108 and (5.2280.51)×108 atoms/g, respectively. The corresponding minimum exposure ages are 2.2±0.5 and 3.0±0.3 Ma. This indicates that the ice sheet in East Antarctica was uncovered the crest of Mount Harding, a typical nunatak in Grove Mountains, since at least mid-Pliocene.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of the Earth’s Deep Interior, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China

    Ping Kong

  2. Key Laboratory of Continental Collision and Plateau Uplift, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China

    Ping Kong, Lin Ding & QingZhou Lai

  3. Institute of Mineral Resources Research, China Metallurgical Geology Bureau, Beijing, 100025, China

    FeiXin Huang

Authors
  1. Ping Kong
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  2. Lin Ding
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  3. QingZhou Lai
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  4. FeiXin Huang
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Correspondence to Ping Kong.

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Kong, P., Ding, L., Lai, Q. et al. Cosmogenic 21Ne concentrations and exposure ages of summit bedrocks in the Grove Mountains, Antarctica. Sci. China Earth Sci. 53, 518–521 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-010-0015-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-010-0015-1

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