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ARGON GEOCHRONOLOGY · DIFFUSION INVERSION

Wunderkind

Turn a laboratory release pattern into a testable model crystal. Wunderkind fits multiple diffusion domains to measured 39Ar release, while keeping the choices behind the fit visible.

Follow the workflow macOS · SPECIALIST SCIENTIFIC TOOL

WHAT IT DOES

Fit the release pattern, inspect the assumptions, then carry the model into thermal-history experiments.

01 · MODEL CRYSTAL

Build the domain population.

Define diffusion geometry, activation energy, D0/a2 and relative volume for as many as twelve active domains, including optional fractal structures.

02 · INVERSION

Choose what controls the fit.

Start manually or from chosen Arrhenius lines, select the Arrhenius and r/r0 observations, and let the numerical search perturb the enabled parameters.

03 · DIAGNOSTICS

See where the model succeeds.

Compare measured and calculated behaviour across Arrhenius, r/r0, domain and profile-release plots before accepting or revising a solution.

THE SCIENTIFIC MODEL

A crystal represented as a collection of diffusion domains.

Wunderkind calculates diffusion through the imposed laboratory furnace schedule. A successful inversion is one whose calculated release pattern mimics the measured release of 39Ar.

INPUT
An XML .Wunderkind document prepared in eArgon
CONSTRAINTS
Chosen Arrhenius and r/r0 observations
HANDOFF
A domain model ready for simulation in MacArgon
Wunderkind Controller in front of an Arrhenius plot during an inversion
WUNDERKIND CONTROLLER Domain parameters, inversion progress and the Arrhenius fit remain visible together.

A TRACEABLE WORKFLOW

From measured gas release to a model you can challenge.

The starting domain population is a seed for numerical search—not an independently established physical description. The workflow is designed for iteration.

  1. 01

    PREPARE

    Correct and export in eArgon.

    Inspect the step-heating data, make any scientifically justified prior-loss correction, then export the current sample.

  2. 02

    SEED

    Describe a starting crystal.

    Add domains manually, or build a seed from the Arrhenius lines you have chosen and inspected.

  3. 03

    CONSTRAIN

    Select the observations to fit.

    Choose control points in the Arrhenius and r/r0 views and send those selections to Wunderkind.

  4. 04

    INVERT

    Run, inspect and revise.

    Compare the modelled release pattern with the data, then adjust the seed, selected points or enabled parameters.

  5. 05

    TEST

    Continue into MacArgon.

    Save the model and export the data needed to explore thermal histories and their predicted age spectra.

THE ARGON SUITE

Three programs. One chain of interpretation.

01 · ANALYSE eArgon

Prepare the measured isotope and step-heating data.
02 · INVERT Wunderkind

Find domain models compatible with the release pattern.

03 · SIMULATE MacArgon

Test thermal histories against the reference spectrum.

INTERPRETING A FIT

A good fit is evidence of compatibility—not proof of a unique crystal.

Wunderkind assumes that the model crystal and its domains do not change during the laboratory heating experiment. It does not model domain creation, destruction or modification during heating.

Recoil during irradiation, cleaning or warming can remove 39Ar before analysis. Apply a defensible prior-loss correction when the data require it, and test alternative starting models and point selections before treating a result as robust.

RESOURCES

Start with a worked example.

Use the sample document to explore the interface, then read a published application of the program.

EXAMPLE DATA · ZIP Test Wunderkind document

Download, unzip and open the included .Wunderkind file.

 SELECTED PAPER · PDF Ios basement terrane study

Forster, Koudashev, Nie, Yeung & Lister — Geological Society, London, Special Publications 487.

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