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The bi-plot (Figure 20.1) is by far the most common option to display lead isotope data. Since there are four isotopes of Pb, twelve combinations of isotopic ratios can be derived. The use of paired ratios depends on the instruments used and the scientific disciplines of the studies. In the early days, Pb isotopic ratios were often reported based on 206Pb-based ratios as 204Pb could not be measured precisely. However, in the 2000s, the advent of the multi-collector mass spectrometer (MC-ICP-MS) and the double- or triple-spiked technique created a huge amount of Pb isotope data with precisely measured 204Pb. Conventionally, environmental science tends to use the ratios based on 206Pb, which however generates plots with linear patterns and thus a low discrimination power (Ellam 2010). In geological literature, ratios based on 204Pb are commonplace which enable a better visualisation of system closure time (or model age) and U-Th-Pb composition (or µ and κ) of parental source(s) (Albarède et al. 2012). However, it has to be kept in mind that all two-dimensional plots incompletely represent a dataset. All twelve combination plots are suggested to be tested to view the full isotopic extent of ore deposits (Albarede et al. 2020). Ideally, the Pb isotopic ratios should be considered in a three-dimensional space.
Instead of isotopic ratios, Albarède et al. (2012) advocate the use of calculated geological model parameters, namely the model age (T), U/Pb (μ), and Th/U (κ) to discriminate potential ore sources in provenance studies (Figure 20.2). As shown in chapter 3, 206Pb, 207Pb, and 208Pb are generated by radioactive decay of their parental isotopes 238U, 235U, and 232Th, respectively. We can therefore calculate the model age, 238U/204Pb and 232Th/238U from the Pb isotope ratios determined for a given sample using the equations provided in Albarède et al. (2012) or any other of the Pb isotope models mentioned in chapter 3 by using, e.g., an R script.