HR: 14:55h
AN: U23B-05    [Abstracts]
TI: A Monte Carlo Approach to Uncertainty Analysis in Cosmogenic Nuclide Dating
AU: * Borchers, B
EM: borchers@nmt.edu
AF: New Mexico Tech, Department of Mathematics/801 Leroy Place, Socorro, NM 87801 United States
AB: There are a number of sources of uncertainty in cosmogenic nuclide dating, including analytical uncertainties in the measurement of cosmogenic nuclides, erosion rates, topographic shielding, effects of latitude and elevation, the history of the earth's magnetic field, and in reaction cross sections. The mathematical models used in cosmogenic nuclide dating are quite complicated with nonlinearities that make linearized uncertainty analysis difficult. In this presentation, we describe a Monte Carlo approach to uncertainty analysis that incorporates these sources of uncertainty into a framework that can be used to compute ages for samples together with associated uncertainties. Further analysis of the model provides information on which sources of uncertainty make the largest contributions to uncertainty in the ages obtained.
DE: 1150 Cosmogenic-nuclide exposure dating (4918)
SC: Union [U]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005