Advances in Cosmogenic Nuclides measured in Ferrar Pyroxene

Measurement of multiple cosmogenic nuclides in single samples is valuable for various applications. For exposure dating, multiple-nuclide systematics are important for correcting exposure ages for surface weathering and erosion, as well as quantifying when and how often a surface has experienced burial. Currently, such constraints from paired ²⁶Al/¹⁰Be/²¹Ne measurements in quartz are common practice and well established. However, ³⁶Cl/¹⁰Be/³He nuclide measurements in pyroxene would provide more precise constraints because the range in decay constants is greater. In Antarctica, the pyroxene-bearing Ferrar Dolerite is one of the dominant lithologies of clast exposed at the surface of many surficial deposits throughout the Transantarctic Mountains. While cosmogenic ³He measurements in Ferrar pyroxene are routine, ¹⁰Be and ³⁶Cl measurements are less common and not well established. Here we present recent advances in multiple cosmogenic nuclides measured in the Ferrar pyroxene, which includes (i) improvements in the extraction of ¹⁰Be and ³He from pyroxene grains, (i) production rate estimates of ¹⁰Be in pyroxene and ³⁶Cl from Ca spallation, and (iii) understanding and quantifying the non-cosmogenic inventories of ³He and ³⁶Cl in pyroxene for accurate exposure dating.