Uranium series dating
Uranium series dating is a collective term for determining the age of sediments, corals or carbonates with the help of the various radionuclides of a decay series of uranium .
In each case, use is made of the fact that the nuclides occurring in the decay series of uranium decay again with different half-lives and therefore after a sufficiently long time a nuclide mixture with a known particle ratio is established. If the ratio of the nuclides within this series deviates from the expected value, either not enough time has passed and the existing ratio allows conclusions to be drawn about the "start time" of the decay, or the ratio of the decay products has changed due to external influences - z. B. by separating the mixture due to different water solubility. If mineral deposits arise from such solutions, the concentration ratio there is changed. This is used in uranium-thorium dating ( 234 U / 230 Th).
The method was also used when the age of Indonesian cave paintings could be dated to at least 35,400 years.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Entry in the "Lexicon of Geography"
- ^ "Cave paintings in Indonesia at least as old as in Europe" Kulturnachrichten on Deutschlandfunk on October 8, 2014