Recrystallisation and Trace-Element Mobility in Zircons: Implications for U-Pb Dating

Complex microstructures of zircon recrystallisation have been discovered in igneous and metamorphic zircons from the Jack Hills Metasedimentary Belt in Western Australia, and the granitic injection complex of Harris in north-west Scotland. Cathodoluminescence (CL), electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and wavelength dispersive spectroscopy (WDS) analysis reveal that recrystallisation in the studied zircons is often characterised by (1) translation, bending and fading of the oscillatory zoning; (2) structural recovery of the zircon; (3) an enrichment in Hf and depletion in Y in recrystallised zircon; and (4) the formation of a recrystallisation interface with a minor (