Max Ehrenfels

The aim of my research is to improve established methods and develop new methods to extract thermal history information using the (U-Th)/He decay system in zircon. An initial project will produce new mineral standards to overcome analytical shortcomings in the currently used laser ablation (U-Th)/He protocol. This will lay the groundwork for further investigating fundamental basics such as the diffusion behavior of helium in zircon. With a better understanding of the diffusion mechanisms of He in zircon, we then hope to develop a method for the recovery of thermal histories by laser depth profiling. The ultimate goal of my research is to improve the precision of low-temperature thermal information to better constrain tectonic processes such as exhumation.