Koll, D., Lachner, J., Beutner, S. et al.
A super-new may have increased the intensity of its cosmic rays 10 million years ago, creating an anomaly we can see today.
A team of researchers discovered a Unusual accumulation of the radioactive isotope beryllium-10 (¹⁰be) at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.
This isotope is generated in the atmosphere when cosmic rays interact with oxygen and nitrogen and then deposit on earth through precipitation, accumulating at the bottom of the ocean.
The concentration of ¹⁰be is in this region of the Pacific, almost twice higher than expected In a layer corresponding to 10 million years ago, it points to.
There are two possible explanations found by the authors of, published in the Nature this week: Astrophysical events that will have been about 10 million years ago, or changes in currents that will have happened at the same time.
According to the first hypothesis, a super-new Next may have increased the intensity of the cosmic rays that affect the earth, leading to an increase in ¹⁰be production in the atmosphere.
In any case, this anomaly can, now that it has been observed, completely revolutionize the way Geologists synchronize the records Marine and terrestrial over time – in the background, alter all geological dating.
Currently, there are no universal temporal markers for periods of millions of years, but if more oceanic regions are found with these characteristics, they can serve as a reference and allow a more accurate synchronization of past events.
In addition, the existence of this anomalous concentration of ¹⁰be in other regions would support with more conviction the theory of the astrophysical event.
Researchers are now committed to expanding this investigation to other regions, in order to attribute meaning to the findings.
