The effects of deformation on radiogenic argon (⁴⁰Ar^∗) retentivity in mica are described from high pressure experiments performed on rock samples of peraluminous granite containing euhedral muscovite and biotite. Cylindrical cores, ∼15 mm in length and 6.25 mm in diameter, were drilled from granite collected from the South Armorican Massif in northwestern France, loaded into gold capsules, and weld-sealed in the presence of excess water. The samples were deformed at a pressure of 10 kb and a temperature of 600 °C over a period 29 of hours within a solid medium assembly in a Griggs-type triaxial hydraulic deformation apparatus. Overall shortening in the experiments was approximately 10%. Transmitted light and secondary and backscattered electron imaging of the deformed granite samples reveals evidence of induced defects and for significant physical grain size reduction by kinking, cracking, and grain segmentation of the micas.

Infrared (IR) laser (CO₂) heating of individual 1.5–2.5 mm diameter grains of muscovite and biotite separated from the undeformed granite yield well-defined ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar plateau ages of 311 ± 2 Ma (2σ). Identical experiments on single grains separated from the experimentally deformed granite yield results indicating ⁴⁰Ar^∗ loss of 0–35% in muscovite and 2–3% ⁴⁰Ar^∗ loss in biotite. Intragrain in situ ultraviolet (UV) laser ablation ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages (±4–10%, 1σ) of deformed muscovites range from 309 ± 13 to 264 ± 7 Ma, consistent with 0–16% ⁴⁰Ar^∗ loss relative to the undeformed muscovite. The in situ UV laser ablation ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages of deformed biotite vary from 301 to 217 Ma, consistent with up to 32% ⁴⁰Ar^∗ loss. No spatial correlation is observed between in situ ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age and position within individual grains. Using available argon diffusion data for muscovite the observed ⁴⁰Ar^∗ loss in the experimentally treated muscovite can be utilized to predict average ⁴⁰Ar^∗ diffusion dimensions. Maximum ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages obtained by UV laser ablation overlap those of the undeformed muscovite, indicating argon loss of <1% and an average effective grain radius for ⁴⁰Ar^∗ diffusion ⩾700 μm. The UV laser ablation and IR laser incremental ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages indicating ⁴⁰Ar^∗ loss of 16% and 35%, respectively, are consistent with an average diffusion radius ≪100 μm. These results support a hypothesis of grain-scale ⁴⁰Ar^∗ diffusion distances in undeformed mica and a heterogeneous mechanical reduction in the intragrain effective diffusion length scale for ⁴⁰Ar^∗ in deformed mica. Reduction in the effective diffusion length scale in naturally deformed samples occurs most probably through production of mesoscopic and submicroscopic defects such as, e.g., stacking faults. A network of interconnected defects, continuously forming and annealing during dynamic deformation likely plays an important role in controlling both ⁴⁰Ar^∗ retention and intragrain distribution in deformed mica. Intragrain ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages, when combined with estimates of diffusion kinetics and distances, may provide a means of establishing thermochronological histories from individual micas.