Apatite fission track data from basement samples of the western Greater Caucasus

This data set contains the results of 19 apatite fission track analyses collected in order to better constrain the cooling/exhumation history of the western Greater Caucasus. Samples were collected from both bedrock and colluvial / fluvial medium- to high-grade metamorphic rocks from the crystalline core of the range between 40.8°E and 43.1°E on either side of Mt. Elbrus. Colluvial / fluvial samples were collected immediately downstream of actively eroding areas and were transported less than 8 km from their host outcrops. The sampling strategy was designed to generate data that overlapped spatially with previous data sets (e.g. Král and Gurbanov, 1996; Vincent et al, 2011; Avdeev and Niemi, 2011). All ages were calculated using dosimeter glass CN-5; (apatite) ζCN5 =339±5; calibrated by multiple analyses of IUGS apatite and zircon age standards [see Hurford, 1990]. The dosimeter ρd = 1.010E6 tr cm⁻² and Nd = 5599.