The eruption that destroyed Pompeii is helping scientists date Earth's history
7 hours ago
- The precise historical record of the Vesuvius eruption in 79 C.E. by Pliny the Younger provided a benchmark to recalibrate argon-argon dating.
- The recalibrated method achieved a precision of 0.7% and accuracy of 0.4%, significantly improving its reliability for dating geological events.
- New pumice samples from Oplontis, advanced mass spectrometry, and Bayesian intercalibration with uranium-lead dating contributed to the improvement.
- The half-life of potassium-40 was measured more precisely at 12.044 billion years, doubling the previous precision.
- This advancement helps date recent volcanic eruptions and refine other dating methods like radiocarbon dating.