Cosmogenic radionuclides are radioactive isotopes which are produced by natural processes and distributed within the Earth system. With a holistic view of the environment the authors show in this book how cosmogenic radionuclides can be used to trace and to reconstruct the history of a large variety of processes. They discuss the way in which cosmogenic radionuclides can assist in the quantification of complex processes in the present-day environment. The book aims to demonstrate to the reader the strength of analytic tools based on cosmogenic radionuclides, their contribution to almost any field of modern science, and how these tools may assist in the solution of many present and future problems that we face here on Earth. The book provides a comprehensive discussion of the basic principles behind the applications of cosmogenic (and other) radionuclides as environmental tracers and dating tools. The second section of the book discusses in some detail the production of radionuclides by cosmic radiation, their transport and distribution in the atmosphere and the hydrosphere, their storage in natural archives, and how they are measured. The third section of the book presents a number of examples selected to illustrate typical tracer and dating applications in a number of different spheres (atmosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere, biosphere, solar physics and astronomy). At the same time the authors have outlined the limitations of the use of cosmogenic radionuclides. Written on a level understandable by graduate students without specialist skills in physics or mathematics, the book addresses a wide audience, ranging from archaeology, biophysics, and geophysics, to atmospheric physics, hydrology, astrophysics and space science.

This is the first book to provide a comprehensive and state-of-the-art introduction to the novel and fast-evolving topic of in-situ produced cosmogenic nuclides. It presents an accessible introduction to the theoretical foundations, with explanations of relevant concepts starting at a basic level and building in sophistication. It incorporates, and draws on, methodological discussions and advances achieved within the international CRONUS (Cosmic-Ray Produced Nuclide Systematics) networks. Practical aspects such as sampling, analytical methods and data-interpretation are discussed in detail and an essential sampling checklist is provided. The full range of cosmogenic isotopes is covered and a wide spectrum of in-situ applications are described and illustrated with specific and generic examples of exposure dating, burial dating, erosion and uplift rates, and process model verification. Graduate students and experienced practitioners will find this book a vital source of information on the background concepts and practical applications in geomorphology, geography, soil-science, and geology.

"In situ-produced cosmogenic nuclides can provide chronologies of environmental change over the past few thousand to several millions of years and may be used to quantify a wide range of weathering and sediment transport processes. These nuclides are thus now used across a broad spectrum of earth science disciplines, including paleoclimatology, geomorphology, and active tectonics. This book is organized around sections that focus on specific aspects of the utilization of cosmogenic nuclides in earth sciences: (1) development of new methods for application of in situ-produced cosmogenic nuclides (burial dating methods, extending their utilization to carbonate-rich and mafic environments); (2) glacial geology (Laurentide Ice Sheet, northern Alps); (3) active tectonics, focusing on applications to constrain slip rates of active faults in Asia (Tibet and Mongolian Gobi-Altay); and (4) landscape development (quantifying sediment production or erosion rates and processes and application of exposure dating to landslides in Hong Kong)."--Publisher's website.

This book is a welcome introduction and reference for users and innovators in geochronology. It provides modern perspectives on the current state-of-the art in most of the principal areas of geochronology and thermochronology, while recognizing that they are changing at a fast pace. It emphasizes fundamentals and systematics, historical perspective, analytical methods, data interpretation, and some applications chosen from the literature. This book complements existing coverage by expanding on those parts of isotope geochemistry that are concerned with dates and rates and insights into Earth and planetary science that come from temporal perspectives. Geochronology and Thermochronology offers chapters covering: Foundations of Radioisotopic Dating; Analytical Methods; Interpretational Approaches: Making Sense of Data; Diffusion and Thermochronologic Interpretations; Rb-Sr, Sm-Nd, Lu-Hf; Re-Os and Pt-Os; U-Th-Pb Geochronology and Thermochronology; The K-Ar and 40Ar/39Ar Systems; Radiation-damage Methods of Geo- and Thermochronology; The (U-Th)/He System; Uranium-series Geochronology; Cosmogenic Nuclides; and Extinct Radionuclide Chronology. Offers a foundation for understanding each of the methods and for illuminating directions that will be important in the near future Presents the fundamentals, perspectives, and opportunities in modern geochronology in a way that inspires further innovation, creative technique development, and applications Provides references to rapidly evolving topics that will enable readers to pursue future developments Geochronology and Thermochronology is designed for graduate and upper-level undergraduate students with a solid background in mathematics, geochemistry, and geology. "Geochronology and Thermochronology is an excellent textbook that delivers on the difficult balance between having an appropriate level of detail to be useful for an upper undergraduate to graduate-level class or research reference text without being too esoteric for a more general audience, with content and descriptions that are understandable and enlightening to the non-specialist. I would recommend this textbook for anyone interested in the history, principles, and mechanics of geochronology and thermochronology." --American Mineralogist, 2021 Read an interview with the editors to find out more: https://eos.org/editors-vox/the-science-of-dates-and-rates

The present monograph as well as the next one (Dorman, M2005) is a result of more than 50 years working in cosmic ray (CR) research. After graduation in December 1950 Moscow Lomonosov State University (Nuclear and Elementary Particle Physics Division, the Team of Theoretical Physics), my supervisor Professor D. I. Blokhintsev planned for me, as a winner of a Red Diploma, to continue my education as an aspirant (a graduate student) to prepare for Ph. D. in his very secret Object in the framework of what was in those time called the Atomic Problem. To my regret the KGB withheld permission, and I, together with other Jewish students who had graduated Nuclear Divisions of Moscow and Leningrad Universities and Institutes, were faced with a real prospect of being without any work. It was our good fortune that at that time there was being brought into being the new Cosmic Ray Project (what at that time was also very secret, but not as secret as the Atomic Problem), and after some time we were directed to work on this Project. It was organized and headed by Prof. S. N. Vernov (President of All-Union Section of Cosmic Rays) and Prof. N. V. Pushkov (Director of IZMIRAN); Prof. E. L. Feinberg headed the theoretical part of the Project.

Volume 66 of Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry is based on a two day short course entitled Paleoaltimetry: Geochemical and Thermodynamic Approaches held prior to the Geological Society of American annual meeting in Denver, Colorado (October 26-27, 2007). This meeting and volume were sponsored by the Geochemical Society, Mineralogical Society of America, and the United States Department of Energy. Contents: The Significance of Paleotopography Stable Isotope-Based Paleoaltimetry: Theory and Validation Paleoelevation Reconstruction Using Pedogenic Carbonates Stable Isotope Paleoaltimetry in Orogenic Belts – The Silicate Record in Surface and Crustal Geological Archives Paleoaltimetry from Stable Isotope Compositions of Fossils A Review of Paleotemperature–Lapse Rate Methods for Estimating Paleoelevation from Fossil Floras Paleoaltimetry: A Review of Thermodynamic Methods Paleoelevation Measurement on the Basis of Vesicular Basalts Stomatal Frequency Change Over Altitudinal Gradients: Prospects for Paleoaltimetry Thermochronologic Approaches to Paleotopography Terrestrial Cosmogenic Nuclides as Paleoaltimetric Proxies

This volume provides an overview of (1) the physical and chemical foundations of dating methods and (2) the applications of dating methods in the geological sciences, biology, and archaeology, in almost 200 articles from over 200 international authors. It will serve as the most comprehensive treatise on widely accepted dating methods in the earth sciences and related fields. No other volume has a similar scope, in terms of methods and applications and particularly time range. Dating methods are used to determine the timing and rate of various processes, such as sedimentation (terrestrial and marine), tectonics, volcanism, geomorphological change, cooling rates, crystallization, fluid flow, glaciation, climate change and evolution. The volume includes applications in terrestrial and extraterrestrial settings, the burgeoning field of molecular-clock dating and topics in the intersection of earth sciences with forensics. The content covers a broad range of techniques and applications. All major accepted dating techniques are included, as well as all major datable materials.