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Extinct 244Pu in ancient zircons.

Grenville Turner, T Mark Harrison, Greg Holland, Stephen J Mojzsis, and Jamie Gilmour

Science 306(5693):89-91 (2004) PMID 15459384

We have found evidence, in the form of fissiogenic xenon isotopes, for in situ decay of 244Pu in individual 4.1- to 4.2-billion-year-old zircons from the Jack Hills region of Western Australia. Because of its short half-life, 82 million years, 244Pu was extinct within 600 million years of Earth's formation. Detrital zircons are the only known relics to have survived from this period, and a study of their Pu geochemistry will allow us to date ancient metamorphic events and determine the terrestrial Pu/U ratio for comparison with the solar ratio.

DOI: 10.1126/science.1101014
Version: za2963e q8za5 q8zb4 q8zc9 q8zd2 q8ze8 q8zf8 q8zga

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