Exposure and terrestrial ages of four Allan Hills Antarctic meteorites

Terrestrial ages of meteorites are based on the amount of cosmic-ray-produced radioactivity in the sample and the number of observed falls that have similar cosmic-ray exposure histories. The cosmic-ray exposures are obtained from the stable noble gas isotopes. Noble gas isotopes are measured by high-sensitivity mass spectrometry. In the present study, the noble gas contents were measured in four Allan Hill meteorites (No. 5, No. 6, No. 7, and No. 8), whose C-14, Al-26, and Mn-53 radioactivities are known. These meteorites are of particular interest because they belong to a large assemblage of distinct meteorites that lie exposed on a small (110 sq km) area of ice near the Allan Hills.