A team of scientists has found abnormal concentration of beryllium-10, suggesting that an unusual event may have occurred on Earth millions of years ago. The discovery, published in the journal Nature Communications, raises many questions about the interaction between the planet and space.
The study was led by Dominik Koll, a physicist at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, who together with the team analyzed the layers of the ferromanganese crust in different regions of the central and northern Pacific Ocean. The results show that during the EUR 9-12 million. Years beryllium-10 has increased significantly.
Beryllium-10 is a radioactive isotope formed when cosmic rays collide with the atmosphere. Over time, this element is deposited in the oceans and remains in layers of sediment. In this study, it is surprising high concentrations of this isotope over a period of time, which indicates that an extraordinary event has occurred.
Theories under consideration
Scientists are considering various hypotheses to explain this anomaly. One of them is possible rearrangement of ocean currents, which may have influenced the distribution of the isotope in marine sediments. However, other theories suggest astrophysical causes, such as the passage of the solar system through a dense interstellar cloud or a nearby supernova explosion that would have intensified the entry of cosmic radiation to Earth.
Layers of marine sediments are geological records that allow us to reconstruct the history of the planet. Due to the slow decay of beryllium-10 with a half-life of 1.4 million m. Years Scientists can accurately date these events. In this sense, the analysis of the samples shows that the growth of the feromangan crust occurs at a rate of approximately 1.52 millimeters per million years. The radioactive anomaly is located at a depth equivalent to 10.5-11.8 million m. period of the year.
“Only further analysis will be able to show whether the beryllium-10 anomaly is due to changes in ocean currents, are of astrophysical origin,” said Dominic Koll. “Therefore, we plan to study more samples in the future and hope that other groups of scientists will do the same.” The scientist also hopes to find out if the anomaly is a local phenomenon or if it had a global impact.
