Abstract Electron spin resonance (ESR) thermochronometry can in principle be used for reconstructing thermal histories of the upper ~ 2 km of the Earth's crust. We have analysed the ESR ages of Al and Ti centres in quartz from Fergusons Hill-1 borehole in the Otway Basin, Australia, to assess their trap parameters under natural conditions. The apparent ESR ages of both centres decrease with increasing temperature (42.9–56.2 °C). A feasible sequential quadratic programming optimisation algorithm was applied to determine the optimal trap parameters based on the assumption of first order kinetics and thermally static condition. The estimated activation energy and frequency factor of the Al centre in quartz were 1.5 eV and 1.1 × 1011 s−1, respectively. This was in excellent agreement with a re-analysis of samples from the Eldzhurtinskiy granite, a highly dynamic geologic system, for which we obtained 1.5 eV and 1.0 × 1011 s−1. The trap parameters of the Ti centre could not be obtained from first order kinetics for the Fergusons Hill samples, but the samples from the Eldzhurtinskiy yielded 1.6 eV and 2.4 × 1011 s−1. Further studies on trap kinetics under better controlled laboratory conditions are required for ESR thermochronometry.

中文翻译：

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石英中铝和钛中心的 ESR 热测时法：澳大利亚奥特韦盆地 Fergusons Hill-1 钻孔的案例研究

摘要 电子自旋共振 (ESR) 热测时法原则上可用于重建地壳上部 ~ 2 km 的热历史。我们分析了澳大利亚奥特韦盆地 Fergusons Hill-1 钻孔石英中铝和钛中心的 ESR 年龄，以评估它们在自然条件下的圈闭参数。两个中心的表观 ESR 年龄随着温度的升高（42.9-56.2 °C）而降低。基于一阶动力学和热静态条件的假设，应用可行的顺序二次规划优化算法来确定最佳陷阱参数。石英中铝中心的估计活化能和频率因子分别为 1.5 eV 和 1.1 × 1011 s-1。这与对 Eldzhurtinskiy 花岗岩样品的重新分析非常一致，一个高度动态的地质系统，我们获得了 1.5 eV 和 1.0 × 1011 s−1。无法从 Fergusons Hill 样品的一级动力学中获得 Ti 中心的陷阱参数，但来自 Eldzhurtinskiy 的样品产生 1.6 eV 和 2.4 × 1011 s-1。ESR 热计时需要在更好的控制实验室条件下对陷阱动力学进行进一步研究。