Fortuna, Sean Julian C.

Archaeo 2 THU-2

Argon-Argon Dating

Clocks are machines that tell us the time in an easy-to-read format. By the rhythmic
movement of clock hands, or the periodic updating of an LCD screen, clocks help us
measure the passage of time. However, even without clock hands or an LCD screen, there
is a real sense in which the clock is still ticking. The energy inside the clocks battery would
still be continually drained, and at a rate that we can determine. In principle, we can
measure the passage of time by measuring the amount of energy that remains inside the
battery at different moments, and calculate the time elapsed between observations using the
rate the stored energy is being depleted. More relevantly, if we know how much energy was
stored in the battery in the first place, we can measure how long ago the clock started
ticking.
Most dating methods work in this way: a resource, whose initial amount is known,
is depleted at a rate that is known. For example: we know the rate at which 14C
radioactively decays into the more stable isotope 12C. We also know that when plants die,
they would have the same 14C/12C ratio as the atmosphere. This is because they are
continually exchanging carbon dioxide with the atmosphere, up until the moment they die.
When animals die, they would also exhibit the same ratio, as at one point in the food chain,
herbivores would be digesting presumably hitherto alive plant material whose 14C/12C
reflects the environment. When plants and animals die, no new 14C gets injected into the
organisms cells. Thus, one can date the time of death of a dead plant or animal, having
known the initial ratio of 14C/12C, and the rate this ratio changes.
The resource here may be a bit abstract. For example: we know the rate at which
water seeps into the surface of obsidian. We also know that, if the surface of obsidian is
chipped, the new surface should be dry. Thus, one can date the age of an obsidian tool by
measuring the depth at which water has penetrated the surface, having known that it must
have been dry when the tool was first made.
In the case of Ardi, the age of her bones was measured using Ar-Ar dating. Ardi,
having been fossilized, does not contain any organic matter that can be dated. Nor can the
rock that has replaced her bones be dated. Fortunately, Ardi was found between two layers
of ash. In such igneous rocks, Ar-Ar dating can be deployed
In the heat of a violent eruption, almost all dissolved argon inside the magma is
expelled. When ash cools down, this would usually mean that the concentration of argon
inside the crystals should be more or less equal to the concentration of argon in the
atmosphere. If the ash is deposited in such a way that none of the trapped gasses inside the
crystals can escape, any new argon gas should have come from within the crystal itself. The
only mechanism that this can happen is by the radioactive decay of 40K into 40Ar.
Thus, one can directly measure the amount of 40K and 40Ar in the ash crystals, and
knowing the rate at which potassium decays into argon, know the age of the ash. However,
this method is wrought with complications. First, potassium is a solid and argon is a gas.
This would mean that samples must be split in two, and involve two types of equipment
that can measure the isotopic content of the crystal accurately. Second, it might prove to be
nave to measure that 40K/40Ar ratio, as it may be the case that the amount of argon in the
crystal at the time it first cooled might have a higher concentration than atmospheric
conditions, or that argon might have escaped the crystal.
Ar-Ar dating addresses these problems. First, the crystal is irradiated with neutrons.
This has the effect of bumping a proton off 39K, turning these atoms into 39Ar. The crystal is
then melted to release the 39Ar and 40Ar trapped inside the crystal, and their ratio is
measured by a mass spectrometer. This eliminates the first problem.
Using the same mass spectrometer, one can measure the amount of 36Ar inside the
crystal. This isotope isnt produced either by radioactive decay of 40K or the irradiation of
39
K, and must have come from being dissolved from the atmosphere or some other outside
sources. Thus, by measuring the amount of 36Ar, one can confirm the assumption that the
initial concentration of 40Ar reflects atmospheric conditions, strengthening the reliability of
the dating measurement.
Then, by melting the crystal bit by bit, and observing whether or not the release of
argon gas is homogeneous, one can confirm or deny the possibility that gas might have
escaped the crystal in its lifetime. This also lends to the reliability of the dating
measurement.
As it happens, the ash layers below and above Ardis remains are in a pristine
condition.
One final problem remains: there is a degree of freedom in the measurement that
arises from the effectivity of the irradiation process and the relationship between the
40
K/40Ar and 39Ar/40Ar ratio. The solution here is to date a sample whose age is already
known by some other technique, and use that measurement to calibrate the Ar-Ar dating
method for the sample whose age is unknown.
The results are astounding. The ash layer above Ardi was dated to 4.416 MYA, and
the ash layer above below Ardi was dated to 4.419 MYA, accurate to within 50 thousand
years. This is a percent error of around 1%.