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Uranium disequilibrium dating of phosphate deposits from the Lau Group, Fiji

Abstract

Uranium-series methods of absolute age determinations were first applied to fossil coral reefs1 and more recently to fossil bone2, marine apatite3–6 and insular apatite7,8. Past sea level stands, climatic conditions, primary productivity, and other factors are thought to be influential in the deposition of avian guano and subsequent insular phosphorite formation9. Some deposits appear to have formed during high stands of the sea while others may be related to glacial epochs8. We report here an attempt to determine the absolute age of two phosphate deposits in the Lau Group, Fiji by uranium-series disequilibrium techniques, in order to assist in the evaluation of their origin in terms of known palaeoclimatic information.

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Roe, K., Burnett, W. & Lee, A. Uranium disequilibrium dating of phosphate deposits from the Lau Group, Fiji. Nature 302, 603–606 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1038/302603a0

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