Tree-rings reveal two strong solar proton events in 7176 and 5259 BCE

Nicolas Brehm (), Marcus Christl (), Timothy D. J. Knowles, Emmanuelle Casanova, Richard P. Evershed, Florian Adolphi, Raimund Muscheler, Hans-Arno Synal, Florian Mekhaldi, Chiara I. Paleari, Hanns-Hubert Leuschner, Alex Bayliss, Kurt Nicolussi, Thomas Pichler, Christian Schlüchter, Charlotte L. Pearson, Matthew W. Salzer, Patrick Fonti, Daniel Nievergelt, Rashit Hantemirov, David M. Brown, Ilya Usoskin and Lukas Wacker ()
Additional contact information
Nicolas Brehm: Laboratory of Ion Beam Physics, ETHZ
Marcus Christl: Laboratory of Ion Beam Physics, ETHZ
Timothy D. J. Knowles: Bristol University
Emmanuelle Casanova: Bristol University
Richard P. Evershed: Bristol University
Florian Adolphi: Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research
Raimund Muscheler: Lund University
Hans-Arno Synal: Laboratory of Ion Beam Physics, ETHZ
Florian Mekhaldi: Lund University
Chiara I. Paleari: Lund University
Hanns-Hubert Leuschner: Georg-August-University
Alex Bayliss: Historic England, Cannon Bridge House
Kurt Nicolussi: Universität Innsbruck
Thomas Pichler: Universität Innsbruck
Christian Schlüchter: University of Bern
Charlotte L. Pearson: University of Arizona, the Laboratory for Tree-Ring Research
Matthew W. Salzer: University of Arizona, the Laboratory for Tree-Ring Research
Patrick Fonti: Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL
Daniel Nievergelt: Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL
Rashit Hantemirov: Laboratory of Dendrochronology, Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology, Ural Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences
David M. Brown: The Queen’s University
Ilya Usoskin: Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory and Space Physics and Astronomy Research Unit, University of Oulu
Lukas Wacker: Laboratory of Ion Beam Physics, ETHZ

Nature Communications, 2022, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract The Sun sporadically produces eruptive events leading to intense fluxes of solar energetic particles (SEPs) that dramatically disrupt the near-Earth radiation environment. Such events have been directly studied for the last decades but little is known about the occurrence and magnitude of rare, extreme SEP events. Presently, a few events that produced measurable signals in cosmogenic radionuclides such as 14C, 10Be and 36Cl have been found. Analyzing annual 14C concentrations in tree-rings from Switzerland, Germany, Ireland, Russia, and the USA we discovered two spikes in atmospheric 14C occurring in 7176 and 5259 BCE. The ~2% increases of atmospheric 14C recorded for both events exceed all previously known 14C peaks but after correction for the geomagnetic field, they are comparable to the largest event of this type discovered so far at 775 CE. These strong events serve as accurate time markers for the synchronization with floating tree-ring and ice core records and provide critical information on the previous occurrence of extreme solar events which may threaten modern infrastructure.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-28804-9

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