Spontaneous fission-neutron fission xenon: a new technique for dating geological events

A method for dating geological samples which uses fission product xenon in a manner similar to the use of radiogenic argon in the 40Ar-39Ar technique has been developed. The results of stepwise heating experiments for a zircon from the Ahaggar region in the Sahara are compared to the geochronology determined by the rubidiumstrontium, uranium-thorium-lead, and potassium-argon dating methods.