Seminar - The effects of fluids on geochronology

Speaker: Prof. Suzette Timmerman – Institut für Geologie, Universität Bern, Switzerland | Tuesday 24 March 2026 | ore 16,30 - Arduino Classroom

24.03.2026

In high temperature systems, reactions with fluid can result in resetting the formation age. Particularly for diamonds, where diamond formation age dating is done by analyses of its mineral inclusions, a fluid film at the interface of the mineral inclusion and diamond can result in resetting the age to kimberlite eruption ages during fast cooling upon ascent to the Earth's surface.
Here, I will showcase results from dating lherzolitic inclusions in Victor diamonds and eclogitic and pyroxenitic inclusions in Premier diamonds as well as isotopic modelling. From these results, it is clear that Sm-Nd and Lu-Hf isotopic systems preserve diamond formation ages in garnet and clinopyroxene inclusions, whereas Rb-Sr and U-Pb in garnet are reset.