Development of CA-ID-TIMS zircon U–Pb dating technique at Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences

U–Pb geochronology using isotope dilution-thermal ionization mass spectrometry (ID-TIMS) is by far the most precise analytical technique. It affords the opportunity to determine 206Pb/238U dates with unprecedented precision often <1‰ on single analyses or weighted mean dates derived from multiple analyses. Pretreatment protocols for zircon analysis, and community-wide innovations spurred on by EARTHTIME tends to be at the leading edge of...