Resumen de Adapting Dodson’s (1973) equation to fission track analysis: insights into the process of annealing in apatite.
This paper presents an innovative application o f the well-known equation o f Dodson (1973) to model the annealing process in apatite. To date, the technique o f fission track analysis has relied on several, very robust empirical models to describe the time-temperature response (eg. Laslett et al., 1987). This is in sharp contrast to the firm physicalfoundation that has been establishedfor the process o f noble gas diffusion in minerals - eg.
'"’A r^A r (McDougall & Harrison, 1999), U-ThHe (Wolf, 1996). By characterising key physical parameters on the basis o f published values and devising a plausible geometric model, this study has recast the annealing process oftracks in apatite using the Dodson equation. The approach, while still only a first approximation, provides a physical framework in which to investigate the responses o f track shortening under conditions o f time (temperature) dependent diffusion. It also provides insight into the likely responses under anisotropic annealing conditions and in cases o f variable chemistry.
