Deep-sea anomaly could unlock secrets of Earth’s past

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has-featured-image " data-featured-image="skulls.jpg"> <img width="1200" height="675" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAxMjAwIDY3NSIgd2lkdGg9IjEyMDAiIGhlaWdodD0iNjc1IiBkYXRhLXU9IiUyRndwLWNvbnRlbnQlMkZ1cGxvYWRzJTJGMjAyMiUyRjA2JTJGc2t1bGxzLmpwZyIgZGF0YS13PSIxMjAwIiBkYXRhLWg9IjY3NSIgZGF0YS1iaXA9IiI+PC9zdmc+" data-spai="1" class="feature-image wp caption" alt="four-australopithecus-skull-fossils" loading="eager" decoding="async" fetchpriority="high" /><noscript data-spai="1"><img width="1200" height="675" src="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/skulls.jpg" data-spai-egr="1" class="feature-image wp caption" alt="four-australopithecus-skull-fossils" loading="eager" decoding="async" fetchpriority="high" srcset="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/skulls.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/skulls-600x338.jpg 600w, https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/skulls-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/skulls-300x169.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></noscript> <div class="caption feature">Four different Australopithecus crania that were found in the Sterkfontein caves, South Africa. Credit: Jason Heaton and Ronald Clarke, in cooperation with the Ditsong Museum of Natural History.</div> </div> </header> <div class="entry-content cols-6 md-cols-1 cols-gap-1 margin-top-1"> <div class="content-left-sidebar cols-1 col"> <section class="contributors md-cols-1 rows-gap"> <div class="row post-date"> <span class="published-date">February 11, 2025</span> </div> <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/contributor/lauren-fuge/" class="author row md-hide"> <img src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAxMDgwIDEwODAiIHdpZHRoPSIxMDgwIiBoZWlnaHQ9IjEwODAiIGRhdGEtdT0iJTJGd3AtY29udGVudCUyRnVwbG9hZHMlMkYyMDIwJTJGMDIlMkZMYXVyZW4tRnVnZS1uZXcuanBnIiBkYXRhLXc9IjEwODAiIGRhdGEtaD0iMTA4MCIgZGF0YS1iaXA9IiI+PC9zdmc+" data-spai="1" alt="Lauren Fuge" width="200" /><noscript data-spai="1"><img src="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Lauren-Fuge-new.jpg" data-spai-egr="1" alt="Lauren Fuge" width="200" /></noscript> <div class="bio"> <h3>Lauren Fuge</h3> </div> </a> <div id="author-name" class="hide"> <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/contributor/lauren-fuge/" class="bio"> By Lauren Fuge </a> </div> <div class="favourite__wrapper row cols"> <button class="showDialog simplefavorite-button" aria-label="Favourite button"> </button> </div> </section> </div> <div class="primary-content cols-1 col-span-5 col"> <div class="flexible-content "> <div class="copy"> <p>A European-Australian research team has stumbled upon an unexpected accumulation of the rare radioactive isotope Beryllium-10 at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Dating to around 10 million years ago, this anomaly may serve as a global ‘time marker’ that will improve geological dating methods into the deep past.</p> <p>But the mystery remains as to why so much of this isotope is present from 10 million years ago – and the answer may be out-of-this-world.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Deep dive on dating</strong></h3> <p>Beryllium-10 is an example of a radionuclide: atomic nuclei (known as isotopes) that decay into other elements over time by releasing protons or neutrons.</p> <p>If an isotope decays at a stable rate and its half-life (the time it takes for half the ‘parent’ atoms to decay into ‘daughter’ ones) is known, scientists can measure the relative concentrations of elements in a given sample and calculate its age.</p> <p>This is called radiometric dating, and it <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/earth/earth-sciences/what-is-radiometric-dating/">can be used to determine the age of ancient things</a> from a rock to a fossil to a wooden artefact.</p> <p>The most common method is carbon dating, using the radioactive isotope of carbon, <sup>14</sup>C. But <sup>14</sup>C only has a short half life of approximately 5,700 years.</p> <div class="advert ad-in-content ad-mobile auh-250"><div id="adn-00000000001fc2ca-i0p0" style="display: none"></div></div> <div class="wp-block-image"> <figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img decoding="async" width="1200" height="800" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAxMjAwIDgwMCIgd2lkdGg9IjEyMDAiIGhlaWdodD0iODAwIiBkYXRhLXU9IiUyRndwLWNvbnRlbnQlMkZ1cGxvYWRzJTJGMjAyNSUyRjAyJTJGU0NIRU1BMS5qcGciIGRhdGEtdz0iMTIwMCIgZGF0YS1oPSI4MDAiIGRhdGEtYmlwPSIiPjwvc3ZnPg==" data-spai="1" alt="Schema1" class="wp-image-322904" title="deep-sea anomaly could unlock secrets of earth’s past 1" ><noscript data-spai="1"><img decoding="async" width="1200" height="800" src="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/SCHEMA1.jpg" data-spai-egr="1" alt="Schema1" class="wp-image-322904" title="deep-sea anomaly could unlock secrets of earth’s past 1" srcset="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/SCHEMA1.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/SCHEMA1-600x400.jpg 600w, https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/SCHEMA1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/SCHEMA1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/SCHEMA1-150x100.jpg 150w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px"></noscript><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"><em>Schematic depiction of production and incorporation of cosmogenic <sup>10</sup>Be into ferromanganese crusts.</em><br />Credit: HZDR / blrck.de</figcaption></figure></div> <p>“The radiocarbon method is limited to dating samples no more than 50,000 years old,” says Dominik Koll, a physicist from Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and lead author on the recent research. “To date older samples, we need to use other isotopes, such as cosmogenic beryllium-10 (<sup>10</sup>Be).” </p> <p>This isotope has a half-life of 1.4 million years – allowing researchers to date objects back to 10 million years ago.</p> <p>For example, <sup>10</sup>Be has previously been used to push back the dating of <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/history/south-africa-cave-fossil/">Australopithecus fossils by a million years</a>, and to confirm <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/news/ancient-tree-rings-reveal-largest-ever-solar-storm-14300-years-ago/">a massive solar storm</a> indicated by ancient tree rings.</p> <p>Koll’s research group discovered an unexpected amount of <sup>10</sup>Be in samples of ferromanganese crust, taken from the sea bed of the Pacific Ocean.</p> <p>Formed slowly and steadily out of iron and manganese, this crust is “one of the most pristine geological archives,” as Koll and colleagues write in their new paper.</p> <div class="advert ad-in-content ad-mobile auh-250"><div id="adn-00000000001fc2ca-i1p0" style="display: none"></div></div> <p>When the team measured its <sup>10</sup>Be content, the results were surprising.</p> <a href="https://link.cosmosmagazine.com/OP59" class="newsletter-cta" data-device="mobile"> <img decoding="async" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAzMDAgMjUwIiB3aWR0aD0iMzAwIiBoZWlnaHQ9IjI1MCIgZGF0YS11PSIlMkZ3cC1jb250ZW50JTJGdXBsb2FkcyUyRjIwMjQlMkYwMyUyRldlZWtseS1DYXRjaHVwLTMwMHgyNTAtMS5wbmciIGRhdGEtdz0iMzAwIiBkYXRhLWg9IjI1MCIgZGF0YS1iaXA9IiI+PC9zdmc+" data-spai="1" alt="Newsletter" title="deep-sea anomaly could unlock secrets of earth’s past 2"><noscript data-spai="1"><img decoding="async" src="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Weekly-Catchup-300x250-1.png" data-spai-egr="1" alt="Newsletter" title="deep-sea anomaly could unlock secrets of earth’s past 2"></noscript> </a> <p>“At around 10 million years, we found almost twice as much <sup>10</sup>Be as we had anticipated,” reports Koll. “We had stumbled upon a previously undiscovered anomaly.” </p> <p>This deviation could improve geological dating methods into deep time, by providing an independent ‘time marker’ to help synchronise different datasets.</p> <div class="in-content-area related-box-wrapper content-third content-right margin-bottom-1"> <div class="gradient-title">Read More</div> <ul class="related-box article-listing"> <li class="cols"> <div class="article article-post"> <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/earth/earth-sciences/what-is-radiometric-dating/" class="thumbnail ar-16-9" aria-label="Article link"> <span data-spai-bg-on="1" class="image" style="background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAxMTk2IDY3NCIgd2lkdGg9IjExOTYiIGhlaWdodD0iNjc0IiBkYXRhLXU9Imh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGY29zbW9zbWFnYXppbmUuY29tJTJGd3AtY29udGVudCUyRnVwbG9hZHMlMkYyMDIxJTJGMDQlMkZHZXR0eUltYWdlcy0xMjYzMzE3MzA0LmpwZyIgZGF0YS13PSIxMTk2IiBkYXRhLWg9IjY3NCIgZGF0YS1iaXA9IiI+PC9zdmc+)"></span> </a> <div class="article-content has-very-light-grey-background-color"> <a href="/earth/"> <span class="category earth-color"> Earth </span> </a> <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/earth/earth-sciences/what-is-radiometric-dating/"> <h3>What is radiometric dating?</h3> </a> </div> </div> </li> </ul> </div> <p>“For periods spanning millions of years, such cosmogenic time markers do not yet exist,” Koll explains. “This beryllium anomaly has the potential to serve as such a marker.”</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>The unsolved anomaly</strong></h3> <p>But the question remains: why does this striking accumulation exist?</p> <div class="advert ad-in-content ad-mobile auh-250"><div id="adn-00000000001fc2ca-i2p0" style="display: none"></div></div> <p>The key may lie in how <sup>10</sup>Be is formed. The vast majority of it is created when cosmic rays slam into the Earth’s atmosphere and interact with oxygen and nitrogen atoms. The <sup>10</sup>Be is then deposited across the planet through precipitation. On land, it becomes fixed in soils, locked in ice, or transported through river systems. Some isotopes make it to the seafloor, where slow-growing manganese nodules can absorb it.</p> <p>The research team suggest two possible explanations for the massive accumulation of <sup>10</sup>Be 10 million years ago.</p> <p>Firstly, evidence suggests that around 10 to 12 million years ago, the oceanic circulation around Antarctica changed dramatically. This may have caused <sup>10</sup>Be to be unevenly distributed around the planet, with a concentration in the Pacific.</p> <p>The alternative options are astrophysical. The researchers propose that a supernova may have exploded near Earth at this time, temporarily increasing the cosmic rays bombarding our atmosphere and thus increasing the overall production of <sup>10</sup>Be. Or, perhaps the Earth’s protective heliosphere was damaged, leaving it more vulnerable to cosmic rays.</p> <p>“Only new measurements can indicate whether the beryllium anomaly was caused by changes in ocean currents or has astrophysical reasons,” says Koll.</p> <div class="advert ad-in-content ad-mobile auh-250"><div id="adn-00000000001fc2ca-i3p0" style="display: none"></div></div> <p>The research <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-55662-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">appears</a> in the journal <em>Nature Communications</em>.</p> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; padding: 20px;"><a href="https://link.cosmosmagazine.com/JP4Y"><p align="center"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-198773" 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Deep-sea anomaly could unlock secrets of Earth’s past