Stuttgart 2012 – scientific programme

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EP: Fachverband Extraterrestrische Physik

EP 18: 100 Jahre Hess

EP 18.4: Invited Talk

Thursday, March 15, 2012, 18:00–18:30, V55.02

Cosmic ray modulation during the past 10.000 years — •Friedhelm Steinhilber and Jürg Beer — Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Eawag, Überlandstrasse 133, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland

Neutron monitors and ionization chambers have provided a continuous highly resolved record of cosmic ray modulation at Earth for the past about 75 years. To go further back in time one has to rely on cosmogenic radionuclides such as ¹⁰Be and ¹⁴C which provide the unique opportunity to reconstruct the history of cosmic rays over many millennia with relatively high temporal resolution (years to decades). These radionuclides are produced by interactions of cosmic ray particles with the gases of the Earth’s atmosphere. After production the radionuclides are distributed in their respective geochemical systems before they get stored in natural archives; polar ice cores in the case of ¹⁰Be and tree rings in the case of ¹⁴C. After presenting similarities and differences between individual records from different locations and of different types, a new reconstruction of cosmic ray modulation over the past 10,000 years will be discussed.