LAUSR

Research subject and methods . The work is based on a comparative study of the data obtained by the authors and those published in literature on U-Pb ID-TIMS and “in-situ” isotopic examination of zircons extracted from a number of Ural geological objects (volcanogenic rocks of the Mashak Formation of the Bashkir Meganticlinorium, granitoid massifs of the Northern part of the Uraltau Ridge, Kumba gabbro-norite massif Platinum-bearing belt), as well as Australian diorites and South African mafic xenoliths. Results. Since the methods of ID-TIMS (ID-MC-ICP/MS) and SIMS dating of zircon are fundamentally different, their advantages and disadvantages should be taken into account when solving the corresponding geochronological problems. Conclusions . U-Pb ID-TIMS (ID-MC-ICP/MS) methods allow the analysis of individual crystals, as well as their fragments, with an unprecedented level of uncertainty concerning age dating (up to 0.05%). The main drawback of the U-Pb SIMS method consists in a significant error when dating U-Pb (2–5%), which might disguise possible Pb losses (and / or U-contribution) and lead to appearance of artifacts when interpreting U-Pb zircon data. This, in turn, leads to the identification of non-existent stages of magmatism, metamorphism, false ideas about the length of evolutionary processes, etc. The use of U-Pb SIMS methods should be limited to solving geological problems that do not require a high accuracy of dating (i.e., allowing rough estimation) but involving the need to study a large number of samples and corresponding zircon grains. Such problems arise during examination of clastic material in the process of reconstructing sources and geological conditions of sedimentary basin formation. U-Pb SIMS methods can be used for studying the heterogeneity of zircon crystals having a complex structure under preliminary selection of materials for subsequent high-precision dating using U-Pb ID-TIMS and / or ID-MC-ICP/MS methods. The expansion of the number of laboratories using these high-precision methods seems to be the most important direction in the development of Russian isotope geochronology.