Electron spin resonance (ESR) dating has been applied to barite from hydrothermal vents. Barite in hydrothermal vents cools down rapidly after formation so little attention was paid to the thermal stability of the ESR signal of barite for dating. To discern multiple episodes of fluid flow or to date barite in other geological settings, it is essential to know how the ESR intensity decays with heat, the characteristic decay time and the closure temperature. In this study, we demonstrate that the decay of the ESR intensity of the SO₃⁻ radical in barite is a second-order reaction. The characteristic decay time for the ESR intensity to drop by half at 100 °C, 200 °C, 300 °C and 500 °C is of the order of magnitude of 10⁶ years, 10 years, 10 h and 1 s respectively. The closure temperature of barite is generally between 190 and 340 °C. These results provide essential information on environments where the ESR intensity in barite is stable and conditions under which ESR ages can be erased.

电子自旋共振 (ESR) 测年已应用于来自热液喷口的重晶石。热液喷口中的重晶石在形成后迅速冷却，因此很少关注重晶石的 ESR 信号的热稳定性用于测年。要辨别流体流动的多次事件或在其他地质环境中确定重晶石的年代，必须了解 ESR 强度如何随热衰减、特征衰减时间和闭合温度。在这项研究中，我们证明重晶石中 SO ₃ ^-自由基的 ESR 强度衰减是二级反应。ESR 强度在 100 °C、200 °C、300 °C 和 500 °C 下下降一半的特征衰减时间为 10 ^6数量级年、10 年、10 小时和 1 秒。重晶石的闭合温度一般在190～340℃之间。这些结果提供了关于重晶石中 ESR 强度稳定的环境以及可以消除 ESR 年龄的条件的基本信息。