Scientists Discover a 10-Million-Year-Old Element in the Ocean That Could Rewrite Earth’s Ancient History – The Daily Galaxy –Great Discoveries Channel
Scientists have discovered a 10-million-year-old anomaly in deep-sea sediments that could revolutionize how we date Earth’s ancient history. A research team found an unexpected spike in beryllium-10, a rare radioactive isotope, nearly twice as high as anticipated. For decades, scientists have sought reliable ways to reconstruct Earth’s ancient history, deciphering geological events that shaped the planet over millions of years. Now, a surprising deep-sea discovery could transform how we date past events, revealing an unexpected tool hidden beneath the ocean floor. A research team from Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), in collaboration with the TUD Dresden University of Technology and the Australian National University (ANU), has found an anomalous concentration of beryllium-10 (¹⁰Be) in seabed samples from the Pacific Ocean. This rare radioactive isotope, produced when cosmic rays collide with Earth’s atmosphere, has long been used as a dating method due to its 1.4-million-year half-life, allowing scientists to trace events as far back as 10 million years.However, the newly discovered accumulation of ¹⁰Be is unlike anything observed before. The levels detected in ocean sediments were nearly twice as high as expected, pointing to an undocumented event in Earth’s past. If confirmed, this anomaly could become a global time marker, helping geologists align geological records from different parts of the world—an advancement that could significantly improve the accuracy of Earth’s historical timeline. Scientists are now racing to determine the cause of this excess beryllium-10, which may hold crucial clues about past ocean circulation shifts or even cosmic events that influenced the planet millions of years ago.The research team analyzed ferromanganese crusts, mineral-rich layers that form slowly on the seafloor, accumulating environmental records over millions of years. These crusts, containing iron and manganese oxides, capture traces of elements from seawater, including beryllium-10. By extracting samples from the deep ocean and applying Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS), scientists could measure ¹⁰Be levels with extreme precision.However, when the research group evaluated the collected data, they encountered an astonishing discovery. “At around 10 million years, we found almost twice as much ¹⁰Be as we had anticipated,” reports Dr. Dominik Koll, an HZDR physicist leading the study. “We had stumbled upon a previously undiscovered anomaly.” The sheer magnitude of the deviation left researchers puzzled, as no known process could easily account for such a dramatic increase.To ensure the anomaly was not due to sample contamination or localized conditions, the team analyzed additional seabed samples from various locations. The pattern remained consistent, strengthening the case that this spike in beryllium-10 was a global phenomenon rather than an isolated occurrence.One of the most compelling hypotheses for this anomaly involves significant changes in Earth’s ocean circulation patterns around 10–12 million years ago. Ocean currents play a vital role in redistributing elements across the planet, influencing the deposition of isotopes like ¹⁰Be. If currents shifted dramatically during that period, they could have altered the distribution of beryllium, concentrating it in certain regions of the ocean.“This could have caused ¹⁰Be to be unevenly distributed across the Earth for a period of time due to the altered ocean currents,” explains Koll. “As a result, ¹⁰Be could have become particularly concentrated in the Pacific Ocean.” This theory suggests that large-scale climatic or tectonic shifts may have impacted global water movement, trapping the isotope in certain oceanic reservoirs.If proven, this explanation could provide new insights into how past climate fluctuations influenced ocean chemistry. However, while ocean circulation changes remain a strong contender, another intriguing possibility cannot be ruled out—one that suggests an origin far beyond Earth’s atmosphere.An alternative hypothesis for the beryllium anomaly points toward an astrophysical event—specifically, a nearby supernova explosion. Cosmic rays, high-energy particles originating from deep space, are responsible for creating ¹⁰Be when they collide with nitrogen and oxygen atoms in Earth’s upper atmosphere. If a supernova occurred 10 million years ago, it could have dramatically increased the intensity of cosmic rays reaching Earth, resulting in an unusual surge in beryllium-10 production.To confirm whether this explanation is valid, further global measurements will be needed. “Only new measurements can indicate whether the beryllium anomaly was caused by changes in ocean currents or has astrophysical reasons,” says Koll. “That is why we plan to analyze more samples in the future and hope that other research groups will do the same.” If similar spikes in ¹⁰Be are found in sediments worldwide, it would suggest that a cosmic event—rather than Earth-bound processes—was responsible for the increase.Such a discovery would have profound implications for understanding past cosmic influences on Earth’s climate and environment. A supernova-triggered beryllium surge would indicate that astronomical events have played a far greater role in shaping our planet’s history than previously recognized.Regardless of its origin, this beryllium anomaly has the potential to become a major milestone in geochronology—the science of dating Earth’s past. One of the biggest challenges in the field is synchronizing different geological archives, such as ice cores, rock formations, and deep-sea sediments. Scientists rely on common time markers—distinctive chemical or isotopic signatures that appear across multiple records—to align these timelines accurately. However, such cosmogenic time markers for periods spanning millions of years have been scarce.“For periods spanning millions of years, such cosmogenic time markers do not yet exist. However, this beryllium anomaly has the potential to serve as such a marker,” Koll concludes. If future research confirms its presence in geological records around the world, it could become a benchmark for dating ancient environmental changes, helping scientists pinpoint past events with greater accuracy.The discovery of an unexpected beryllium-10 spike is an exciting step toward improving our understanding of Earth’s ancient history. Whether driven by ocean circulation shifts or an explosive cosmic event, the anomaly presents a rare opportunity to refine the timeline of geological changes. Scientists will continue investigating additional samples, expanding their search beyond the Pacific to determine whether this is a localized phenomenon or a planet-wide signature.As new technologies allow for more precise measurements, this study could lead to significant breakthroughs in paleoclimatology, astrophysics, and Earth sciences. If this 10-million-year-old beryllium anomaly proves to be a global marker, it could revolutionize how we understand Earth’s climate history, the behavior of its oceans, and even the influence of cosmic events on our planet.This article has been republished from the following materials. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source.Got a reaction? Share your thoughts in the commentsEnjoyed this article? Subscribe to our free newsletter for engaging stories, exclusive content, and the latest news.Comment Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
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