| Age determinations using the 235U and 238U radioactive decay series to the daughter isotopes 207Pb and 206Pb, respectively, using the mineral zircon (ZrSiO4), are widely used to decipher geological processes. A new method developed in the last couple of years, the laser ablation multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-MC-ICP-MS), overcomes previous laborious sample preparation, and yields isotopic ratios and age data with a high spatial resolution of ten of microns. The present study describes the analytical set-up and data reduction process as presently applied at the Laboratory for Geochronology of the University of Brasília. It explores the precision and accuracy of the method by cross-analysing three international zircon... |
