Miyake event

A Miyake event is an observed sharp enhancement of the production of cosmogenic isotopes by cosmic rays. It can be marked by a spike in the concentration of radioactive carbon isotope 14
C in tree rings, as well as 10
Be and 36
Cl in ice cores, which are all independently dated. At present, five significant events are known (7176 BCE, 5259 BCE, 660 BCE, 774 CE, 993 CE) for which the spike in 14
C is quite remarkable, i.e. above 1% rise over a period of 2 years, and four more events (12,350 BCE,[1] 5410 BCE, 1052 CE, 1279 CE) need independent confirmation. It is not known how often Miyake events occur, but from the available data it is estimated to be every 400–2400 years.[2]

There is strong evidence that Miyake events are caused by extreme solar particle events[3][4] and they are likely related to super-flares discovered on solar-like stars.[4][5] Although Miyake events are based on extreme year-to-year rises of 14
C concentration, the duration of the periods over which the 14
C levels increase or stay at high levels is longer than one year.[6][7] However, a universal cause and origin of all the events is not yet established in science, and some of the events may be caused by other phenomena coming from outer space (such as a gamma-ray burst).[8]

A recently reported sharp spike in 14
C that occurred between 12,350 and 12,349 BCE may represent the largest known Miyake event. This event was identified during a study conducted by an international team of researchers who measured radiocarbon levels in ancient trees recovered from the eroded banks of the Drouzet River, near Gap, France, in the Southern French Alps.[9][10][11] According to the initial study the new event is roughly twice the size of the Δ14
C increase for more recent 774 CE and 993 CE events, but the strength of the corresponding solar storm is not yet assessed. However, the newly discovered 12,350 BCE event has not yet been independently confirmed in wood from other regions, nor it is reliably supported by a clear corresponding spike in other isotopes[10] (such as beryllium-10) that are usually used in combination for absolute radiometric dating.

A Miyake event occurring in modern conditions might have significant impacts on global technological infrastructure such as satellites, telecommunications, and power grids.[7][12][13]

  1. ^ Kirby, Jane (9 October 2023). "Biggest ever solar storm identified using ancient tree rings". The Independent. Archived from the original on 10 October 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  2. ^ Brehm, Nicolas; Christl, Marcus; Knowles, Timothy D. J.; Casanova, Emmanuelle; Evershed, Richard P.; Adolphi, Florian; et al. (7 March 2022). "Tree-rings reveal two strong solar proton events in 7176 and 5259 BCE". Nature Communications. 13 (1): 1196. Bibcode:2022NatCo..13.1196B. doi:10.1038/s41467-022-28804-9. PMC 8901681. PMID 35256613.
  3. ^ Usoskin, I. G.; Kromer, B.; Ludlow, F.; Beer, J.; Friedrich, F.; Kovaltsov, G.; Solanki, S.; Wacker, L. (2013). "The AD775 cosmic event revisited: the Sun is to blame". Astronomy and Astrophysics Letters. 552: L3. arXiv:1302.6897. Bibcode:2013A&A...552L...3U. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201321080.
  4. ^ a b Cliver, Edward W.; Schrijver, Carolus; Shibata, Kazunari; Usoskin, Ilya G. (2022). "Extreme solar events". Living Reviews in Solar Physics. 19 (1): 2. arXiv:2205.09265. Bibcode:2022LRSP...19....2C. doi:10.1007/s41116-022-00033-8.
  5. ^ Maehara, Hiroyuki; Shibayama, Takuya; Notsu, Shota; Notsu, Yuta; Nagao, Takashi; Kusaba, Satoshi; Honda, Satoshi; Nogami, Daisaku; Shibata, Kazunari (May 2012). "Superflares on solar-type stars". Nature. 485 (7399): 478–481. Bibcode:2012Natur.485..478M. doi:10.1038/nature11063. PMID 22622572.
  6. ^ Zhang, Qingyuan; Sharma, Utkarsh; Dennis, Jordan A.; Scifo, Andrea; Kuitems, Margot; Büntgen, Ulf; Owens, Mathew J.; Dee, Michael W.; Pope, Benjamin J. S. (October 2022). "Modelling cosmic radiation events in the tree-ring radiocarbon record". Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences. 478 (2266). arXiv:2210.13775. Bibcode:2022RSPSA.47820497Z. doi:10.1098/rspa.2022.0497.
  7. ^ a b Miyake, Fusa; Usoskin, Ilya; Poluianov, Stepan, eds. (2019). Extreme Solar Particle Storms. doi:10.1088/2514-3433/ab404a. ISBN 978-0-7503-2232-4.[page needed]
  8. ^ Kornei, Katherine (6 March 2023). "Mystery of Ancient Space Superstorms Deepens". Scientific American.
  9. ^ Alex Wilkins (9 October 2023). "Largest known solar storm struck Earth 14,300 years ago". New Scientist. 260 (3460): 9. Bibcode:2023NewSc.260Q...9W. doi:10.1016/S0262-4079(23)01892-4.
  10. ^ a b Bard, Edouard; et al. (9 October 2023). "A radiocarbon spike at 14 300 cal yr BP in subfossil trees provides the impulse response function of the global carbon cycle during the Late Glacial". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A. 381 (2261). Bibcode:2023RSPTA.38120206B. doi:10.1098/rsta.2022.0206. PMC 10586540. PMID 37807686.
  11. ^ "Largest Ever Solar Storm Identified in Ancient Tree Rings – Could Devastate Modern Technology and Cost Billions". SciTechDaily. 9 October 2023. Archived from the original on 11 October 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  12. ^ Brehm, Nicolas; Christl, Marcus; Knowles, Timothy D. J.; Casanova, Emmanuelle; Evershed, Richard P.; Adolphi, Florian; Muscheler, Raimund; Synal, Hans-Arno; Mekhaldi, Florian; Paleari, Chiara I.; Leuschner, Hanns-Hubert; Bayliss, Alex; Nicolussi, Kurt; Pichler, Thomas; Schlüchter, Christian; Pearson, Charlotte L.; Salzer, Matthew W.; Fonti, Patrick; Nievergelt, Daniel; Hantemirov, Rashit; Brown, David M.; Usoskin, Ilya; Wacker, Lukas (7 March 2022). "Tree-rings reveal two strong solar proton events in 7176 and 5259 BCE". Nature Communications. 13 (1): 1196. Bibcode:2022NatCo..13.1196B. doi:10.1038/s41467-022-28804-9. PMC 8901681. PMID 35256613.
  13. ^ Cosmic-ray Research Division (17 November 2021). "Radiocarbon (14C)". Nagoya, Japan: Institute for Space–Earth Environmental Research, Nagoya University. Archived from the original on 29 May 2024. Retrieved 6 March 2023.