protactinium-231–thorium-230 dating

protactinium-231–thorium-230 dating, method of age determination that makes use of the quantities of certain protactinium and thorium isotopes in a marine sediment. Protactinium and thorium have very similar chemical properties and appear to be precipitated at the same rates in marine sediments. The isotopes protactinium-231 and thorium-230 are both radioactive and decay with half-lives of 32,500 years and 80,000 years, respectively. The ratio of the two radioactive isotopes constitutes a better radioactive geochronometer than either of them separately, because they do not need to have a uniform sedimentation rate through time but need only be precipitated in the same proportion. It is likely that this condition will hold even though the rate of sedimentation may vary. Sediments as old as 175,000 years may be dated by this method.