Calibration of the Lutetium-Hafnium Clock

TLDR

Well‑defined radioactive decay constants underpin geochronology, and the presence of strongly unradiogenic hafnium in Early Archean zircons indicates that enriched crustal reservoirs existed on Earth by 4.3 billion years ago. Four new determinations of the lutetium‑176 decay constant give a mean value of 1.865 ± 0.015 × 10⁻¹¹ yr⁻¹, implying that previously used values made Lu–Hf ages about 4 % too young and that early Earth models must be revised.

Abstract

Well-defined constants of radioactive decay are the cornerstone of geochronology and the use of radiogenic isotopes to constrain the time scales and mechanisms of planetary differentiation. Four new determinations of the lutetium-176 decay constant (lambda176Lu) made by calibration against the uranium-lead decay schemes yield a mean value of 1.865 +/- 0.015 x 10(-11) year(-1), in agreement with the two most recent decay-counting experiments. Lutetium-hafnium ages that are based on the previously used lambda176Lu of 1.93 x 10(-11) to 1.94 x 10(-11) year(-1) are thus approximately 4% too young, and the initial hafnium isotope compositions of some of Earth's oldest minerals and rocks become less radiogenic relative to bulk undifferentiated Earth when calculated using the new decay constant. The existence of strongly unradiogenic hafnium in Early Archean and Hadean zircons implies that enriched crustal reservoirs existed on Earth by 4.3 billion years ago and persisted for 200 million years or more. Hence, current models of early terrestrial differentiation need revision.