Variation in the terrestrial isotopic composition and atomic weight of argon

The isotopic composition and atomic weight of argon (Ar) are variable in terrestrial materials. Those variations are a source of uncertainty in the assignment of standard properties for Ar, but they provide useful information in many areas of science. Variations in the stable isotopic composition and atomic weight of Ar are caused by several different processes, including (1) isotope production from other elements by radioactive decay (radiogenic isotopes) or other nuclear transformations (e.g., nucleogenic isotopes), and (2) isotopic fractionation by physical-chemical processes such as diffusion or phase equilibria. Physical-chemical processes cause correlated mass-dependent variations in the Ar isotope-amount ratios (⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar, ³⁸Ar/³⁶Ar), whereas nuclear transformation processes cause non-mass-dependent variations. While atmospheric Ar can serve as an abundant and homogeneous isotopic reference, deviations from the atmospheric isotopic ratios in other Ar occurrences limit the precision with which a standard atomic weight can be given for Ar. Published data indicate variation of Ar atomic weights in normal terrestrial materials between about 39.7931 and 39.9624. The upper bound of this interval is given by the atomic mass of ⁴⁰Ar, as some samples contain almost pure radiogenic ⁴⁰Ar. The lower bound is derived from analyses of pitchblende (uranium mineral) containing large amounts of nucleogenic ³⁶Ar and ³⁸Ar. Within this interval, measurements of different isotope ratios (⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar or ³⁸Ar/³⁶Ar) at various levels of precision are widely used for studies in geochronology, water–rock interaction, atmospheric evolution, and other fields.