scholarly journals Use of 10Be to Predict Atmospheric 14C Variations during the Laschamp Excursion: High Sensitivity to Cosmogenic Isotope Production Calculations

Radiocarbon ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandre Cauquoin ◽  
Grant Raisbeck ◽  
Jean Jouzel ◽  
Didier Paillard

The Laschamp excursion is a period of reduced geomagnetic field intensity occurring 40.7 ± 1.0 kyr ago. As a consequence, cosmogenic isotope production increased dramatically and its sensitivity to solar activity was enhanced during this period. The latter occurs because a larger fraction of the lower-energy interstellar galactic cosmic-ray particles, normally excluded by the geomagnetic field, is able to reach Earth's atmosphere. This produces a cosmogenic isotope production signal with a significant structure. As high-resolution 10Be profiles from both Antarctica (EDC) and Greenland (NGRIP-GRIP) during this crucial period are now available, one can use them as input into a box carbon cycle model in order to predict atmospheric 14C variations due to the Laschamp excursion. For this purpose, 10Be data are converted into 14C, using production calculations for the 10Be-14C conversion, after correction for the estimated difference of sensitivity between polar and global 10Be deposition. Several scenarios of carbon cycle state are simulated, from preindustrial to glacial conditions. Applying two recent cosmogenic isotope production calculations for the 10Be to 14C conversion, we found that the resulting atmospheric Δ14C variations are very sensitive to which of these two are employed. For example, Δ14C amplitude under glacial conditions varies from 260‰ (EDC) and 320‰ (Greenland) to 430‰ (EDC) and 510‰ (Greenland) depending on the formulation used for 10Be-14C conversion.

Author(s):  
Rob Ellam

‘Scratching the surface with cosmogenic isotopes’ explains spallation—when a high energy cosmic ray particle removes several nucleons from an atom. Spallation produces 10Be from 16O in the atmosphere and rock surfaces, while spallation of silicon produces another cosmogenic isotope, 26Al. Cosmogenic isotope production is about four times greater at the poles than at the equator and is also greater at higher altitudes. To calculate a cosmogenic isotope exposure age, the latitude and altitude at which the sample was exposed needs to be known. Using ‘exposure’ and ‘burial’ methodologies, cosmogenic isotopes can be used to address various scientific problems such as recreating the seismic histories of tectonically active areas.


Tellus B ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor Brovkin ◽  
Stephan J. Lorenz ◽  
Johann Jungclaus ◽  
Thomas Raddatz ◽  
Claudia Timmreck ◽  
...  

2012 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 320-326
Author(s):  
Nan WU ◽  
Honglin HE ◽  
Li ZHANG ◽  
Xiaoli REN ◽  
Yuanchun ZHOU ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 502 (4) ◽  
pp. 5821-5838
Author(s):  
Ottavio Fornieri ◽  
Daniele Gaggero ◽  
Silvio Sergio Cerri ◽  
Pedro De La Torre Luque ◽  
Stefano Gabici

ABSTRACT We present a comprehensive study about the phenomenological implications of the theory describing Galactic cosmic ray scattering on to magnetosonic and Alfvénic fluctuations in the GeV−PeV domain. We compute a set of diffusion coefficients from first principles, for different values of the Alfvénic Mach number and other relevant parameters associated with both the Galactic halo and the extended disc, taking into account the different damping mechanisms of turbulent fluctuations acting in these environments. We confirm that the scattering rate associated with Alfvénic turbulence is highly suppressed if the anisotropy of the cascade is taken into account. On the other hand, we highlight that magnetosonic modes play a dominant role in Galactic confinement of cosmic rays up to PeV energies. We implement the diffusion coefficients in the numerical framework of the dragon code, and simulate the equilibrium spectrum of different primary and secondary cosmic ray species. We show that, for reasonable choices of the parameters under consideration, all primary and secondary fluxes at high energy (above a rigidity of $\simeq 200 \, \mathrm{GV}$) are correctly reproduced within our framework, in both normalization and slope.


2021 ◽  
Vol 503 (4) ◽  
pp. 5675-5691
Author(s):  
O Okike ◽  
J A Alhassan ◽  
E U Iyida ◽  
A E Chukwude

ABSTRACT Short-term rapid depressions in Galactic cosmic ray (GCR) flux, historically referred to as Forbush decreases (FDs), have long been recognized as important events in the observation of cosmic ray (CR) activity. Although theories and empirical results on the causes, characteristics, and varieties of FDs have been well established, detection of FDs, from either isolated detectors' or arrays of neutron monitor data, remains a subject of interest. Efforts to create large catalogues of FDs began in the 1990s and have continued to the present. In an attempt to test some of the proposed CR theories, several analyses have been conducted based on the available lists. Nevertheless, the results obtained depend on the FD catalogues used. This suggests a need for an examination of consistency between FD catalogues. This is the aim of the present study. Some existing lists of FDs, as well as FD catalogues developed in the current work, were compared, with an emphasis on the FD catalogues selected by the global survey method (GSM). The Forbush effects and interplanetary disturbances database (FEID), created by the Pushkov Institute of Terrestrial Magnetism, Ionosphere and Radiowave Propagation Russian Academy of Sciences (IZMIRAN), is the only available comprehensive and up to date FD catalogue. While there are significant disparities between the IZMIRAN FD and other event lists, there is a beautiful agreement between FDs identified in the current work and those in the FEID. This may be a pointer to the efficiency of the GSM and the automated approach to FD event detection presented here.


2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosanna Greenop ◽  
Mathis P. Hain ◽  
Sindia M. Sosdian ◽  
Kevin I. C. Oliver ◽  
Philip Goodwin ◽  
...  

Abstract. The boron isotope composition (δ11B) of foraminiferal calcite reflects the pH and the boron isotope composition of the seawater the foraminifer grew in. For pH reconstructions, the δ11B of seawater must therefore be known, but information on this parameter is limited. Here we reconstruct Neogene seawater δ11B based on the δ11B difference between paired measurements of planktic and benthic foraminifera and an estimate of the coeval water column pH gradient from their δ13C values. Carbon cycle model simulations underscore that the ΔpH–Δδ13C relationship is relatively insensitive to ocean and carbon cycle changes, validating our approach. Our reconstructions suggest that δ11Bsw was  ∼  37.5 ‰ during the early and middle Miocene (roughly 23–12 Ma) and rapidly increased during the late Miocene (between 12 and 5 Ma) towards the modern value of 39.61 ‰. Strikingly, this pattern is similar to the evolution of the seawater isotope composition of Mg, Li and Ca, suggesting a common forcing mechanism. Based on the observed direction of change, we hypothesize that an increase in secondary mineral formation during continental weathering affected the isotope composition of riverine input to the ocean since 14 Ma.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document