Correction and Interpretation of Fission Track Ages

Abstract

In its early stages, fission track dating was often underrated and regarded as an unreliable age determination method since its data frequently turned out as younger than independently determined ages on the same samples. Obviously, the prerequisite that all fission tracks must be retained since the formation of the sample was not met. It is now known that track retention is a very temperature-sensitive and characteristic property of minerals and natural glasses. The understanding of track retention is the key for the proper interpretation of fission track ages