Introducing a geochemical screen to identify geologically meaningful U-Pb dates in fossil teeth

Abstract

Previous studies have shown that radiometric dating of fossils can be complicated by post-fossilisation alteration. A key challenge to obtaining geologically meaningful fossilisation dates in bioapatite is identifying regions that have remained relatively undisturbed since the time of fossilisation. In order to determine whether a geochemical indicator can be used to identify least-disturbed regions, we combine in situ trace element analysis and U-Pb geochronology of fossil teeth from the Arroyo Chijuillita Member, New Mexico, and the Dinosaur Park Formation, Alberta. The reliability of these U-Pb dates is supported by good agreement between the isotope dilution thermal ionization mass spectrometry (61.5 ± 1.6 Ma) and laser ablation ICP-MS (64.2 ± 2.4 Ma) dates for a targeted tooth region. Of fourteen teeth analyzed from these units, two record dates within uncertainty of the depositional age: one has a “diffusion” concave upward cross-sectional yttrium profile, the other a concave downward profile reflective of trace element loss. It was found for teeth from both units that smaller yttrium concentration ranges are correlated with younger U-Pb dates, likely the result of post-fossilisation alteration. A yttrium screen based on this relationship is proposed, and is found to be a better indicator of post-fossilisation open system behaviour in the samples analyzed than other geochemical features thought to be produced during fossilisation. This screen provides a new tool for identifying fossil material least disturbed since fossilisation, facilitating the use of bioapatite to date the time of diagenesis.