ISOTOPES AND GEOCHRONOLOGY

Dr. Johanes Hutabarat

Dr. Eng. Agus Didit Haryanto
Nisa Nurul Ilmi, M.Sc

Fakultas Teknik Geologi

Universitas Padjadjaran
2021
 ISOTOPES

Symbols and numbers Isotopes

The atoms of an element can differ in

mass from each other because they have
differing numbers of neutrons. Those with
more neutrons will weigh more and be
more massive. The atomic mass (often
referred to as atomic weight) of an
element is calculated by adding together
the number of protons and the number of
neutrons.

Examples for isotopic couples:

Stable isotopes:
H-1, H-2 (D), H-3 (T) (or 1H, 2H, 3H)
C-12, C-13, C-14 (or 12C, 13C, 14C)
O-16, O-18
Radiogenic isotopes:
Fe-54, Fe-56
U-235, U-238
• different isotopes have different natural abundance. For
example, 99.3% of naturally occurring uranium is uranium-
238, 0.7% is uranium-235, and only a trace is uranium-
234.

• Different nuclei also have different stabilities

• the nuclear properties of an atom depend on the number

of protons and neutrons in its nucleus

• Nuclide is a nucleus with a specified number of protons

and neutrons

• Nuclei that are radioactive are called radionuclides

• atoms containing these nuclei are called radioisotopes

Rates of Radioactive Decay
• Different nuclei undergo radioactive decay at
different rates.
Rates of Radioactive Decay
• Radioactive decays is a first-order kinetic process

• a first-order kinetic process has a characteristic half-life

• half-life is the time required for any given quantity of a

substance to react

• isotope half-life, example

• the half-life of strontium-90 is 28.8 yr. If we started with

10.0 g of Sr-90, only 5.0 g of that isotope would remain
after 28.8 yr, 2.5 g would remain after another 28.8 yr,
and so on.
Rates of Radioactive Decay
• Strontium-90 decays to yttrium-90:

Nuclear decay is
unaffected by external
condition
such as temperature,
pressure, or a state of
chemical combination
 Rock Dating and Geological Events
(Geochronology)

• Methods:

• Relative dating: comparing with an older or younger

rock

• Superposition law

• cross-cutting relation

• included fragment law

• Absolute dating: determine the age of rick with

radiometric dating
 Radiometric Dating
• The methods of dating objects based on their
isotopes and isotopes abundances

• example:

• C-14 used to determine the age of organic

materials

• U-238 used to the determine the age of rock

 Radiometric Dating

Found the natural proposed radioactive as a

radioactive elements: tool to measure geological
Uranium time
 Radiometric Dating Principles

• nucleus stability depends on the Coulomb forces

and low nuclear forces

• Elements with atomic number Z > 83 are unstable

—> radioactive decays occur

• the decay: Parent isotope —> daughter isotope

Radiometric Dating Principles
Radiometric Dating
Principles
Radiometric Dating
Principles
 Radiometric Dating
• half-life of uranium-238 is 4.5 x 109 yr.

• Uranium-238 decayed to form lead-206

• to determine the age of rock containing uranium, we can

use the ratio of lead-206 to uranium-238.

• if the lead-206 had somehow become incorporated into

rock by normal chemical processes instead by radioactive
decay, the rock would also contain large amounts of the
more abundant isotope lead-208. In the absence of this
“geonormal” isotope of lead, it is assumed that all of the
lead-206 was at one time uranium-238
 Calculation Based on Half-
life
• How do we quantitatively determine the age of an
object?

Rate = kN

k is a decay constant
 Calculating the Age of a Mineral

• A rock contain 0.257 mg of lead-206 for every mg of

uranium-238. The half-life for the decay of uranium-
238 to lead-206 is 4.5 x 109 yr, How old is the rock?
 solution
• assume that the rock contain 1.000 mg uranium-238 and therefore
0.257 mg of lead-206.

• The amount of uranium-238 in the rock when it was first formed

therefore equals 1.000mg plus the quantity that has decayed to
lead-206

• Because the mass of lead atoms is not the same as uranium

atoms, we cannot just add 1.000 mg and 0.257 mg.

• We have to multiply the present mass of lead-206 (0.257 mg) by

the ratio of the mass number of uranium to that of lead,into which it
has decayed
• the total original 238U:

• we can calculate the decay constant for the process from

its half-life:

• to solve for time, t, and substituting known quantities

gives: