Basic Concepts

Apatite is a calcium phosphate that can be found in igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks.

One determines the age at which a rock or mineral formed (or when it was formed), and the other determines when a rock cooled (or when it reached a certain temperature).

Spontaneous, natural traces form over the course of geological history. Induced, artificial traces are generated in the laboratory.

Zircon, which is more resistant, registers high temperatures. Apatite, which is more sensitive to heat, registers low temperatures.

Fission tracks are tiny microscopic damage marks that are recorded within certain minerals when spontaneous fission of uranium-238 occurs.

Geochronology is the science of determining the age of rocks, minerals, and geological events.

El paleomagnetismo es la rama de la geofísica y la geología que estudia el campo magnético antiguo de la Tierra registrado en las rocas.

It is a thermochronological technique that makes it possible to determine when a mineral cooled to low temperatures during its geological history.

It is a geochronological technique used to determine the age at which rocks and geological events formed.

Thermal modeling is a technique used in thermocronology to reconstruct the temperature history of a rock.

Thermocronology is a branch of geology that studies the thermal history of rocks and minerals over geological time.

Zircon is a very hard mineral that commonly forms in igneous and metamorphic rocks.