A computational approach to harnessing the geological information within zircon grain shape

Abstract

Zircon geochronology and geochemistry is widely used for sediment provenance analysis and geotectonic reconstructions. However, these applications of zircon can be limited where crystalline basement has non-unique ages and isotopic signatures. This research has developed methodologies for extracting quantitative chemical information about the mineral’s history, from the shape, texture, uranium and thorium content of zircon. Thus, this work extends zircon as a sediment source indicator.