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An Antarctic view of Beryllium-10 and solar activity for the past millennium

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Abstract

Beryllium-10 in ice provides a valuable proxy of solar activity. However, complex production pathways, atmospheric transport, and deposition processes impede its quantitative interpretation. Here, we examine the influence of deposition processes on two Be-10 ice core records from Central Antarctica (South Pole and Dome Fuji stations), covering the last millennium. We try to quantify how Be-10 variations in ice relate to variations in Be-10 production, and the bias associated to this relationship. An independent bias estimation is provided by comparing atmospheric radiocarbon variations reconstructed from tree rings and deduced from Be-10 variations. Both techniques suggest an uncertainty of the order of 10% in Be-10 production. This uncertainty estimate does not account for the geographical origin of Be-10, which remains a major issue. Because both Be-10 records are so similar, we propose to average them as a means to decrease the unshared (non solar) variability. This average record provides a new reconstruction of solar modulation parameter Φ and total solar irradiance over the last ~1,300 years. The lowest solar activity is found during the so-called Spörer Minimum (around AD 1450). The highest activities are found during the 8th century and over the last decades: as shown in previous studies, our results suggest that the recent solar activity is not exceptionally high for the last millennium.

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Acknowledgments

We are indebted to Dr. Horiuchi for providing us the Dome Fuji 10Be data and for some comments, and to the reviewers for their constructive comments and careful language corrections. This study is a contribution to the VOLSOL project (ANR-09-BLAN-0003-01) funded by Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR).

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  1. Gilles Delaygue

    Present address: Université Joseph Fourier-Grenoble I/CNRS, LGGE, 54 rue Molière, 38402, Saint-Martin-d’Hères Cedex, France

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  1. Université Aix-Marseille III/CNRS/IRD/Collège de France, CEREGE, Europôle de l’Arbois BP80, 13545, Aix-en-Provence Cedex4, France

    Gilles Delaygue & Edouard Bard

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Delaygue, G., Bard, E. An Antarctic view of Beryllium-10 and solar activity for the past millennium. Clim Dyn 36, 2201–2218 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-010-0795-1

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