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<front>
<journal-meta>
<journal-id journal-id-type="publisher">EGUsphere</journal-id>
<journal-title-group>
<journal-title>EGUsphere</journal-title>
<abbrev-journal-title abbrev-type="publisher">EGUsphere</abbrev-journal-title>
<abbrev-journal-title abbrev-type="nlm-ta">EGUsphere</abbrev-journal-title>
</journal-title-group>
<issn pub-type="epub"></issn>
<publisher><publisher-name>Copernicus Publications</publisher-name>
<publisher-loc>Göttingen, Germany</publisher-loc>
</publisher>
</journal-meta>
<article-meta>
<article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.5194/egusphere-2025-1001</article-id>
<title-group>
<article-title>Interlaboratory reproducibility of ID-TIMS U&amp;ndash;Pb geochronology evaluated with a pre-spiked natural zircon solution</article-title>
</title-group>
<contrib-group><contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Szymanowski</surname>
<given-names>Dawid</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9524-5710</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Wotzlaw</surname>
<given-names>Jörn-Frederik</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3363-7764</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Ovtcharova</surname>
<given-names>Maria</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8079-5189</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff2">
<sup>2</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Schoene</surname>
<given-names>Blair</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7092-8590</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff3">
<sup>3</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Schaltegger</surname>
<given-names>Urs</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4404-8607</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff2">
<sup>2</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Schmitz</surname>
<given-names>Mark D.</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff4">
<sup>4</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Ickert</surname>
<given-names>Ryan B.</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4171-7676</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff5">
<sup>5</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Chelle-Michou</surname>
<given-names>Cyril</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Chamberlain</surname>
<given-names>Kevin R.</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff6">
<sup>6</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Crowley</surname>
<given-names>James L.</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff4">
<sup>4</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Davies</surname>
<given-names>Joshua H. F. L.</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8668-6012</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff7">
<sup>7</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Eddy</surname>
<given-names>Michael P.</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff5">
<sup>5</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Gaynor</surname>
<given-names>Sean P.</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff2">
<sup>2</sup>
</xref>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff3">
<sup>3</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Käßner</surname>
<given-names>Alexandra</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff8">
<sup>8</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Mohr</surname>
<given-names>Michael T.</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0009-0001-3814-6908</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff4">
<sup>4</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Paul</surname>
<given-names>André N.</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0936-8616</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff2">
<sup>2</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Ramezani</surname>
<given-names>Jahan</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5856-1471</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff9">
<sup>9</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Tapster</surname>
<given-names>Simon</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff10">
<sup>10</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Tichomirowa</surname>
<given-names>Marion</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff8">
<sup>8</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>von Quadt</surname>
<given-names>Albrecht</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Wall</surname>
<given-names>Corey J.</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff11">
<sup>11</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
</contrib-group><aff id="aff1">
<label>1</label>
<addr-line>Institute of Geochemistry and Petrology, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff2">
<label>2</label>
<addr-line>Department of Earth Sciences, University of Geneva, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff3">
<label>3</label>
<addr-line>Department of Geosciences, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff4">
<label>4</label>
<addr-line>Department of Geosciences, Boise State University, Boise, Idaho 83725, USA</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff5">
<label>5</label>
<addr-line>Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff6">
<label>6</label>
<addr-line>Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming 82071, USA</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff7">
<label>7</label>
<addr-line>Département des Sciences de la Terre et de l’Atmosphère/Geotop, Université du Québec à Montréal, Québec H2X 3Y7, Canada</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff8">
<label>8</label>
<addr-line>Institut für Mineralogie, TU Bergakademie Freiberg, 09599 Freiberg, Germany</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff9">
<label>9</label>
<addr-line>Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff10">
<label>10</label>
<addr-line>Geochronology and Tracers Facility, British Geological Survey, Keyworth, Nottingham, NG12 5GG, United Kingdom</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff11">
<label>11</label>
<addr-line>Pacific Centre for Isotopic and Geochemical Research, Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada</addr-line>
</aff>
<pub-date pub-type="epub">
<day>18</day>
<month>03</month>
<year>2025</year>
</pub-date>
<volume>2025</volume>
<fpage>1</fpage>
<lpage>25</lpage>
<permissions>
<copyright-statement>Copyright: &#x000a9; 2025 Dawid Szymanowski et al.</copyright-statement>
<copyright-year>2025</copyright-year>
<license license-type="open-access">
<license-p>This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this licence, visit <ext-link ext-link-type="uri"  xlink:href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</ext-link></license-p>
</license>
</permissions>
<self-uri xlink:href="https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2025/egusphere-2025-1001/">This article is available from https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2025/egusphere-2025-1001/</self-uri>
<self-uri xlink:href="https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2025/egusphere-2025-1001/egusphere-2025-1001.pdf">The full text article is available as a PDF file from https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2025/egusphere-2025-1001/egusphere-2025-1001.pdf</self-uri>
<abstract>
<p>The highest precision and accuracy in U&amp;ndash;Pb geochronology is achieved using isotope dilution thermal ionisation mass spectrometry (ID-TIMS), a technique which owes its reliability to precise Pb and U isotope ratio analysis, a largely unified framework of lab protocols, and common isotopic tracers with accurately determined compositions. However, while hardware and protocol developments have steadily improved the analytical precision, the level to which ID-TIMS U&amp;ndash;Pb dates from different laboratories agree remains largely unquantified. To better assess both internal repeatability and interlaboratory reproducibility of this method, we have conducted an experiment in which a large batch of natural zircon was dissolved, mixed with a newly prepared &lt;sup&gt;205&lt;/sup&gt;Pb&amp;ndash;&lt;sup&gt;233&lt;/sup&gt;U&amp;ndash;&lt;sup&gt;235&lt;/sup&gt;U tracer, and distributed as solution to participating laboratories. Thus prepared, pre-spiked, homogeneous PLES535 solution underwent the full sample preparation and analysis process separately in each lab, allowing a maximally unbiased comparison of the entire analytical procedure on a sample of unknown age. The results from 14 instruments at 11 institutions demonstrate internal repeatability of individual labs at 5 to 10 U&amp;ndash;Pb analyses, with MSWD values generally indicative of single age populations. Lab weighted-mean &lt;sup&gt;206&lt;/sup&gt;Pb/&lt;sup&gt;238&lt;/sup&gt;U and &lt;sup&gt;207&lt;/sup&gt;Pb/&lt;sup&gt;235&lt;/sup&gt;U ages for the 337 Ma zircon solution agree within 0.05 % and 0.09 % (two standard deviations), respectively. This underscores the reliability of the participating laboratories for precise and accurate zircon U&amp;ndash;Pb analyses, while highlighting the need for continued exchange on lab protocols and method improvement. We identify likely reasons for the remaining interlaboratory bias and discuss ways forward toward the goal of 0.01 % reproducibility.</p>
</abstract>
<counts><page-count count="25"/></counts>
<funding-group>
<award-group id="gs1">
<funding-source>Université de Genève</funding-source>
<award-id>University of Geneva–Princeton University co-fund program</award-id>
</award-group>
<award-group id="gs2">
<funding-source>Princeton University</funding-source>
<award-id>University of Geneva–Princeton University co-fund program</award-id>
</award-group>
<award-group id="gs3">
<funding-source>Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich</funding-source>
<award-id>ETH Career Seed Award</award-id>
</award-group>
</funding-group>
</article-meta>
</front>
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</article>