Evidence for an increase in cosmogenic 10Be during a geomagnetic reversal

Authigenic 10Be/9Be ratio signatures of the cosmogenic nuclide production linked to geomagnetic dipole moment variation since the Brunhes/Matuyama boundary

Geomagnetic dipole moment variations associated with polarity reversals and excursions are expressed by large changes of the cosmogenic nuclide beryllium-10 (10Be) production rates. Authigenic 10Be/9Be ratios (proxy of atmospheric 10Be production) from oceanic cores therefore complete the classical information derived from relative paleointensity (RPI) records. This study presents new authigenic 10Be/9Be ratio results obtained from cores MD05-2920 and MD05-2930 collected in the west equatorial Pacific Ocean. Be ratios from cores MD05-2920, MD05-2930 and MD90-0961 have been stacked and averaged. Variations of the authigenic 10Be/9Be ratio are analyzed and compared with the geomagnetic dipole low series reported from global RPI stacks. The largest 10Be overproduction episodes are related to dipole field collapses (below a threshold of 2 × 1022 Am2) associated with the Brunhes/Matuyama reversal, the Laschamp (41 ka) excursion, and the Iceland Basin event (190 ka). Other significant 10Be production peaks are correlated to geomagnetic excursions reported in literature. The record was then calibrated by using absolute dipole moment values drawn from the Geomagia and Pint paleointensity value databases. The 10Be-derived geomagnetic dipole moment record, independent from sedimentary paleomagnetic data, covers the Brunhes-Matuyama transition and the whole Brunhes Chron. It provides new and complementary data on the amplitude and timing of millennial-scale geomagnetic dipole moment variations and particularly on dipole moment collapses triggering polarity instabilities.

Deciphering records of geomagnetic reversals

Polarity reversals of the geomagnetic field are a major feature of the Earth's dynamo. Questions remain regarding the dynamical processes that give rise to reversals and the properties of the geomagnetic field during a polarity transition. A large number of paleomagnetic reversal records have been acquired during the past 50 years in order to better constrain the structure and geometry of the transitional field. In addition, over the past two decades, numerical dynamo simulations have also provided insights into the reversal mechanism. Yet despite the large paleomagnetic database, controversial interpretations of records of the transitional field persist; they result from two characteristics inherent to all reversals, both of which are detrimental to an ambiguous analysis. On the one hand, the reversal process is rapid and requires adequate temporal resolution. On the other hand, weak field intensities during a reversal can affect the fidelity of magnetic recording in sedimentary records. This paper is aimed at reviewing critically the main reversal features derived from paleomagnetic records and at analyzing some of these features in light of numerical simulations. We discuss in detail the fidelity of the signal extracted from paleomagnetic records and pay special attention to their resolution with respect to the timing and mechanisms involved in the magnetization process. Records from marine sediments dominate the database. They give rise to transitional field models that often lead to overinterpret the data. Consequently, we attempt to separate robust results (and their subsequent interpretations) from those that do not stand on a strong observational footing. Finally, we discuss new avenues that should favor progress to better characterize and understand transitional field behavior.

The Laschamp geomagnetic excursion featured in nitrate record from EPICA-Dome C ice core

Here we present the first direct comparison of cosmogenic ¹⁰Be and chemical species in the period of 38–45.5 kyr BP spanning the Laschamp geomagnetic excursion from the EPICA-Dome C ice core. A principal component analysis (PCA) allowed to group different components as a function of the main sources, transport and deposition processes affecting the atmospheric aerosol at Dome C. Moreover, a wavelet analysis highlighted the high coherence and in-phase relationship between ¹⁰Be and nitrate at this time. The evident preferential association of ¹⁰Be with nitrate rather than with other chemical species was ascribed to the presence of a distinct source, here labelled as “cosmogenic”. Both the PCA and wavelet analyses ruled out a significant role of calcium in driving the ¹⁰Be and nitrate relationship, which is particularly relevant for a plateau site such as Dome C, especially in the glacial period during which the Laschamp excursion took place. The evidence that the nitrate record from the EDC ice core is able to capture the Laschamp event hints toward the possibility of using this marker for studying galactic cosmic ray flux variations and thus also major geomagnetic field excursions at pluri-centennial-millennial time scales, thus opening up new perspectives in paleoclimatic studies.

Accelerator mass spectrometry for measurement of long-lived radioisotopes

Particle accelerators, such as those built for research in nuclear physics, can also be used together with magnetic and electrostatic mass analyzers to measure rare isotopes at very low abundance ratios. All molecular ions can be eliminated when accelerated to energies of millions of electron volts. Some atomic isobars can be eliminated with the use of negative ions; others can be separated at high energies by measuring their rate of energy loss in a detector. The long-lived radioisotopes (10)Be, (14)C,(26)A1, 36Cl, and (129)1 can now be measured in small natural samples having isotopic abundances in the range 10(-12) to 10(- 5) and as few as 10(5) atoms. In the past few years, research applications of accelerator mass spectrometry have been concentrated in the earth sciences (climatology, cosmochemistry, environmental chemistry, geochronology, glaciology, hydrology, igneous petrogenesis, minerals exploration, sedimentology, and volcanology), in anthropology and archeology (radiocarbon dating), and in physics (searches for exotic particles and measurement of halflives). In addition, accelerator mass spectrometry may become an important tool for the materials and biological sciences.

10Be evidence for the Matuyama–Brunhes geomagnetic reversal in the EPICA Dome C ice core

An ice core drilled at Dome C, Antarctica, is the oldest ice core so far retrieved. On the basis of ice flow modelling and a comparison between the deuterium signal in the ice with climate records from marine sediment cores, the ice at a depth of 3,190 m in the Dome C core is believed to have been deposited around 800,000 years ago, offering a rare opportunity to study climatic and environmental conditions over this time period. However, an independent determination of this age is important because the deuterium profile below a depth of 3,190 m depth does not show the expected correlation with the marine record. Here we present evidence for enhanced 10Be deposition in the ice at 3,160-3,170 m, which we interpret as a result of the low dipole field strength during the Matuyama-Brunhes geomagnetic reversal, which occurred about 780,000 years ago. If correct, this provides a crucial tie point between ice cores, marine cores and a radiometric timescale.