Beryllium-isotope signatures in ice sheet proximal marine sediments

Matthew R. Jeromson; Toshiyuki Fujioka; David Fink; Krista Simon; Alexandra Post; Marcello Blaxell; Tona Sanchez-Palacios; T. Gabriel Enge; Carly Beggs; Duanne A. White

doi:10.1016/j.chemgeo.2025.122912

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Beryllium-isotope signatures in ice sheet proximal marine sediments

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Beryllium-isotope signatures in ice sheet proximal marine sediments

Matthew R. Jeromson, Toshiyuki Fujioka, David Fink, Krista Simon, Alexandra Post, Marcello Blaxell, Tona Sanchez-Palacios, T. Gabriel Enge, Carly Beggs and Duanne A. White

Chemical Geology, Vol.691, 122912

2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2025.122912

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Abstract

Beryllium-isotopes

Circumpolar Deep Water

Boundary exchange

Surface sediments

Leaching

Antarctica

Meteoric-10Be has become a popular proxy for assessing glacial environments and processes around Antarctica, such as meltwater discharge or ice shelf environments. Despite applications in recent paleostudies, little testing of the mechanisms driving the deposition of Be-isotopes into marine sediments has been conducted. We used chemical leach procedures to sequentially or partially extract 10Be and 9Be from bulk sediments to assess the possible sources and depositional processes affecting them. Additionally, we leached the reactive phase of five different grainsize splits to determine whether 10Be/9Be ratios normalise for grainsize effects acting upon the 10Be concentration. Reactive Be-isotopes are primarily situated in the oxide phases of sediments, with the amorphous oxide (Am-Ox) phases consisting of much higher 10Be/9Be ratios (~7–10 × 10−8) than the crystalline oxides (~1–3 × 10−8; X-Ox), indicating that the Am-Ox phase better represents authigenic oxide production and a circumpolar deep water source, which is contrary to most of the current literature. Published leach procedures targeting the reactive phase of sediment consist of ratios in between the Am-Ox and X-Ox phases (~3–7 × 10−8), indicating that they target both phases to some degree. The fractionation of Be-isotopes in Antarctic sediment samples shows that circumpolar deep water is the primary source of 10Be, and that the “reactive” signatures from different leach steps targeting the reactive phase are not the same.

Details

Title: Beryllium-isotope signatures in ice sheet proximal marine sediments
Authors/Creators: Matthew R. Jeromson - University of Canberra
Toshiyuki Fujioka - Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana
David Fink - Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation
Krista Simon - Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation
Alexandra Post - Geoscience Australia
Marcello Blaxell - University of Canberra
Tona Sanchez-Palacios - Murdoch University, Food Futures Institute
T. Gabriel Enge
Carly Beggs
Duanne A. White - University of Canberra
Publication Details: Chemical Geology, Vol.691, 122912
Publisher: Elsevier B.V.; AMSTERDAM
Number of pages: 13
Identifiers: 991005782733907891
Murdoch Affiliation: Food Futures Institute
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article

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Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration; International collaboration
Citation topics: 8 Earth Sciences; 8.19 Oceanography, Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences; 8.19.668 Glacier Dynamics
Web Of Science research areas: Geochemistry & Geophysics
ESI research areas: Geosciences