have a read to bray et al. 1992 http://sp.lyellcollection.org/content/67/1/3.full.pdf

this is not a recent paper but all is in. Add U-Th-Sm/He would help.

regards

Alejandra,

VR is acuired at the highest temperature reached by the organic matter. This is a function of depth and thermal gradient so to date that time, if you are not at maximum burial depth, you need to reconstruct the burial curve and estimate the variation of the thermal gradient with time. This depends on the geodynamic context, a literature search should provide you with the information you need. Your uncertainty lies in the thickness of missing formations and the variation of the thermal gradient with time. You need to develop various scenarios to characterize it. I used Themispack from IFP, This kind of module is commonly included in basin modelling packages so you should have no problems finding a software.

Fission tracks are defect in the crystal lattice. The number of fission tracks is a function of time and concentration of radionuclides, the length distribution of tracks is a function of temperature and time. Read the literature for details (Gallagher wrote a few synthesis papers at the end of the 90s and early 2000s). For apatite, the temperature range is 50 to 110 C. Above 110C, at geological time scale, fission tracks are not preserved, they heal completely. Below 50 C, the tracks heal very slowly and are mostly preserved. So, by modelling the distribution of track length and the number of tracks, you can reconstruct the thermal history of the sample within the temperature boundaries of the mineral you are using. Here again, there is some uncertainty involved. Modelling softwares are developed by researchers, I am not sure what you can find at the current time.

I do not have reference for coals but looking at the papers from Gallagher, Donnelick, Carter, Wolf and their co-authors should give you a pretty good idea of the method ... it should be the same whether you are in a source rock, a coal or just any rock (for fission tracks). I have a few papers I can send you, they are a bit old but still actual. Let me know if you need more detailed information or references.

All, the best,

JB

Hi there,

There are a range of low-temperature thermochronological techniques that might assist you. (U-Th)/He can be used to assess the time temperature or uplift/burial history of minerals such as zircon and apatite, the added bonus is that these phases record different temperatures, as the system closes at different temperatures. Similarly, K-Ar or Ar/Ar techniques can be applied to a wide range of minerals, such as micas and illite. Again, the system closes at different temperatures for different phases.

Similarly, a range of techniques can be applied to a single phase. Such as U-Pb and (U-Th)/He on zircon or on apatite. Both of these are also suitable for FTT.

A good review of low temperature thermochronologic techniques from 2005 is Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry, volume 58 (linked). There’ve been some significant advances in analytical techniques, modelling and inversion since then, but the theoretical underpinnings still apply. There are numerous papers that report on findings of application of a range of low-T techniques to a range of problems.

There are opportunities to do mutlitechnique basin history studies using a suite of techniques, such as VR, Low-T thermochron and stratigraphy, particularly in deep, old basins.

Hopefully that's a little bit helpful.

Good luck.

http://rimg.geoscienceworld.org/content/58/1.toc

Thank you very much to all.

If they knew of texts that can help me I would be very grateful to them .

I did a fair bit of this over the years, and yes vitrinite reflectence does not help much with the timing of maximum burial but when combined with fission track dating and track length analysis and using that information to create a burial history plot you are on your way to getting to a Tt path.  Please try both forward models and inverse model to best understand the thermal history.