Causation of Late Quaternary Rapid-increase Radiocarbon Anomalies

TL;DR

This study investigates whether nearby supernovae could have caused rapid radiocarbon anomalies in Earth's atmosphere over the past 50,000 years, suggesting a potential causal link supported by historical data and supernova remnant analysis.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive analysis linking supernova events to radiocarbon anomalies, proposing supernovae as a plausible cause for rapid atmospheric radiocarbon increases.

Findings

Supernovae within 1.4 kiloparsecs correlate with observed radiocarbon anomalies.

Multiple supernova remnants align with timing of past radiocarbon increases.

Predicted radiocarbon pulses from supernovae match observed anomalies.

Abstract

Brief (less than 100 years) rapid-increase anomalies in the Earth's atmospheric radiocarbon production have previously been attributed to either gamma photon radiation from supernovae or to cosmic ray particle radiation from exceptionally large solar flares. Analysis of distances and ages of nearby supernovae remnants, the probable gamma emissions, the predicted Earth incident radiation, and the terrestrial radiocarbon record indicates that supernova causation may be the case. Supernovae include Type Ia white dwarf explosions, Type Ib, c, and II core collapse events, and some types of gamma burst objects. All generate significant pulses of atmospheric radiocarbon depending on distances. Surveys of supernova remnants offer a nearly complete accounting for the past 50,000 years. There are 18 events less than or at 1.4 kilo-parsec distance, and brief radiocarbon anomalies with appropriate sizes occurred for each of the closest events. In calendar years before 1950, these are: Vela, 22 per mil del 14C at 12,760; S165, 20 per mil at 7431; Vela Junior, 13 per mil at 2765; HB9, 9 per mil at 5372; Boomerang, 11 per mil at 10,255; and Cygnus Loop (per mil change not calculated) at 14,722. Although uncertainties remain large, the agreements of prediction to observation support a possible causal connection.