Tony Kemp

Centre for Exploration Targeting, University of Western Australia

Lies, Damned Lies and Crust Formation Ages

Abstract

Radiogenic isotopes have been used to gain spectacular insights into the differentiation of the Earth and the growth of continental crust through time. That said, indiscriminant application of model ‘crust formation ages’ can lead to a spectacularly inaccurate view of Earth evolution. In this talk I discuss the good, the bad, and (mostly) the downright ugly of crust formation ages derived from hafnium isotope analysis of zircon – and why it might be time to pull in the reins on the detrital zircon juggernaut.

Biographical Details

Tony Kemp remains stuck in a geo-vortex that has dragged him from PhD studies at the ANU (Canberra), to research positions in Bristol (UK), Niigata (Japan), Townsville (QLD), Pullman (Washington, USA) and now Perth. He is currently an ARC Future Fellow based in the CET at UWA, where he is cultivating an obsession for old bits of crust and arcane black minerals in pegmatites, and trying to convince people that minute variations in the isotope composition of obscure elements are important.