The Earth is constantly subjected to an overwhelming influx of cosmic rays — subatomic particles that are undetectable to the human eye and originate from sources such as the sun and supernova explosions. As these high-energy cosmic rays, which have traveled great distances, make their way into the
When the secondary cosmic rays reach the topmost meters of the Earth’s surface, they transform elements within minerals, such as oxygen, into rare radioisotopes known as “cosmogenic radionuclides”, including beryllium-10 and carbon-14 . Scientists can analyze the fluctuations in the concentrations of these nuclides to determine the length of time that rocks have been exposed on the Earth’s surface.
The researchers use pure quartz because it is an optimal source for Be-10 and C-14. Splits of pure quartz were sent to theand Lifton’s lab where beryllium and carbon were extracted, respectively. Subsequent measurements of C-14 were performed at Purdue University’s PRIME Lab and Be-10 was analyzed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to figure out the concentrations of each radionuclide.The highest non-volcanic peaks in the Andes are located between Santiago, Chile, and Mendoza, Argentina.
According to author Gregory Hoke, this is one of the first studies to use the combination of Be-10 and C-14 to show the long-term average rate of sediment generation and the time and process it takes to move down to and through the rivers, giving a broader picture of the factors involved.
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