U-Pb Detrital Zircon Ages and Graptolite Fossils from Western Alaska

Sixteen sedimentary rock samples collected between 1984 and 2014 contain U-Pb isotopic data and ages for detrital zircon grains, analyzed by Apatite to Zircon, Inc. and Geosep Services laboratories from 2011 to 2014. A second dataset provides fossil identifications and age assignments from a select rock sample in the western Alaska Range. All data were produced by Julie A. Dumoulin of the U.S. Geological Survey as part of geological mapping research.

Use Cases

• Reconstructing sediment provenance and source terranes based on detrital zircon U-Pb age populations.
• Calibrating and refining the geological age of rock units based on graptolite fossil identifications.
• Correlating geological units across the western Alaska Range, Livengood area, and Seward Peninsula.
• Testing tectonic models for the assembly of Alaska using detrital zircon age spectra.

Strengths

• Data originates from 16 distinct rock samples collected over a 30-year period (1984-2014).
• Analytical work was conducted by two specialized laboratories (A2Z and GSS) using LA-ICP-MS techniques.
• Includes two complementary data types: geochronological measurements and paleontological identifications.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Provenance

Source

United States Geological Survey, Mineral Resources Program

Collection Method

Samples collected via geological mapping; zircon analysis by LA-ICP-MS; fossils identified by visual inspection.

Time Range

Sample collection: 1984-2014; Laboratory analysis: 2011-2014

Geography

Western Alaska Range, Livengood area, and Seward Peninsula, Alaska, USA