Browsing by Author "Galton-Fenzi, BK"

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    10Be concentrations in snow at Law Dome, Antarctica following the 29 October 20 and 20 January 2005 solar cosmic ray events
    (World Scientific, 2009-08) Pedro, JB; Smith, AM; Duldig, ML; Klekociuk, AR; Simon, KJ; Curran, MAJ; van Ommen, TD; Fink, D; Morgan, VI; Galton-Fenzi, BK
    Recent model calculations have attempted to quantify the contribution of major energetic solar cosmic ray (SCR) events to 10Be production.1,2 In this study we compare modeled 10Be production by SCR events to measured 10Be concentrations in a Law Dome snow pit record. The snow pit record spans 2.7 years, providing a quasi-monthly 10Be sampling resolution which overlaps with the SCR events of 29 Oct 2003 and 20 Jan 2005. These events were calculated to increase monthly 10Be production in the polar atmosphere (>65° S geomagnetic latitude) by ~60% and ~120% above the GCR background, respectively2. A strong peak in 10Be concentrations (>4σ above the 2.7 y mean value) was observed ~1 month after the 20 Jan 2005 event. By contrast, no signal in 10Be concentrations was observed following the weaker 29 Oct 2003 series of events. The concentration of 10Be in ice core records involves interplay between production, transport, and deposition processes. We used a particle dispersion model to assess vertical and meridional transport of aerosols from the lower stratosphere where SCR production of 10Be is expected to occur, to the troposphere from where deposition to the ice sheet occurs. Model results suggested that a coherent SCR production signal could be transported to the troposphere within weeks to months following both SCR events. We argue that only the 20 Jan 2005 SCR event was observed in measured concentrations due to favorable atmospheric transport, relatively high production yield compared to the 29 Oct 2003 event, and a relatively high level of precipitation in the Law Dome region in the month following the event. This result encourages further examination of SCR signals in 10Be ice core data. © 2009 World Scientific Publishing
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    Beryllium isotope signatures of ice shelves and sub-ice shelf circulation
    (Elsevier, 2019-01-01) White, DA; Fink, D; Post, AL; Simon, KJ; Galton-Fenzi, BK; Foster, S; Fujioka, T; Jeromson, MR; Blaxell, M; Yokoyama, Y
    Be isotopes are a useful tracer of sediment source and transport pathways but have not been widely tested in glacio-marine environments. We measured Be isotopes in a range of depositional environments from open marine, sub-ice shelf and subglacial settings throughout Prydz Bay, one of Antarctica's largest ice drainage systems. We find that strong sub-ice shelf and bottom current circulations can advect 10Be-rich open marine sediments into an ice shelf cavity, and 10Be-poor terrestrial sediments onto the continental shelf at the ice shelf outflow, meaning that 10Be concentrations reflect sub-ice shelf circulation patterns rather than depositional environment. However, HCl-extractable 10Be/9Be ratios can provide a more robust discrimination of sediment deposited in open marine and sub-ice shelf settings. Thus, Be isotopes are a useful tracer of both environmental setting and sub-ice shelf circulation strength in both modern and paleo-ice sheet margins. Crown Copyright © 2018 Published by Elsevier B.V.
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    A quasi-monthly record of 10Be concentration at Law Dome, Antarctica, from 2000 to 2015
    (Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre, 2016-03-07) Smith, AM; Curran, MAJ; Etheridge, DM; Galton-Fenzi, BK; Heikkilä, UE; Klekociuk, AR; Moy, AD; Pedro, JB; Simon, KJ; van Ommen, TD
    This paper presents an overview of work undertaken over a number of Australian Antarctic Science projects, beginning in season 2001/02 with a shallow snow pit. In season 2005/06 this was augmented with a 260 m thermally drilled ice core and a 4.5 m snow pit. A core taken in 2008/09 overlapped the 2005/06 core and pit samples. From 2009/10, short cores spanning a few year’s deposition, along with snow pit samples spanning about half a year, have been taken each season. This has continued through to the current 2015/16 season. The cores permit an overlap with earlier years to match the chronology and to yield samples for 10Be analysis at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) by the technique of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). Together, the data provide a unique, continuous, quasi-monthly record over 2000 to 2015 as we have moved from Solar Cycle 23 to 24. The snow pits yield larger samples for 7Be analysis, earlier by gamma spectroscopy but lately by AMS. Along with comparison with neutron monitor data and GCM modelling, this unique, high-precision record has enabled us to learn much about the production, transport and deposition of 10Be to Law Dome and to improve our use of 10Be as a proxy for past solar variability.