Pliny the Younger advances geochronology

The eruption of Vesuvius volcano witnessed by Pliny the Younger in 79 CE is dated by the argon-40/argon-39 ( ⁴⁰ Ar/ ³⁹ Ar) method to 1938 ± 13 years (SD) before measurement in 2025 CE. Achievement of 0.7% precision and 0.4% accuracy at such a young age marks a precedent for ⁴⁰ Ar/ ³⁹ Ar dating and signals improved applicability of the method for constraining magma systems’ evolution, including volcanic hazard assessment. Improvements in mass spectrometry, neutron irradiation strategy, and determination of interfering neutron-induced isotopes enable this result. The data serve to determine the decay constant for the radioactive decay of potassium-40 ( ⁴⁰ K) to ⁴⁰ Ar that is twice as precise as the value determined by disintegration counting, thus improving the accuracy of ⁴⁰ Ar/ ³⁹ Ar dating throughout geologic time, and serves as an important datum for intercalibrating ⁴⁰ Ar/ ³⁹ Ar with other dating methods.