Annual 10Be Record for 1510–1701 CE Obtained From Endogenic Travertine at Baishuitai, China: A New Proxy Record of Annual Solar Activity

Abstract

Abstract The 10Be record in laminated travertines is a potential proxy for reconstructing past solar activity down to the annual scale; however, correcting for the potential influence of climatic or environmental variations remains challenging. Here, we present an annually resolved 10Be record using travertines from Baishuitai, China, covering the period from 1510 to 1701 CE, along with environmental proxies, to evaluate climatic influences and implement corrections to accurately reconstruct solar activity. We demonstrate that the 10Be deposition in travertines exhibits two environmental impacts: the transport efficiency of atmospheric 10Be into travertine and the additional 10Be inflow from overland flow associated with rainfall. We show that these impacts can be corrected based on iron and potassium contents. The resulting corrected record agrees with ice‐core and tree‐ring records, demonstrating the feasibility of using such carbonate sediment 10Be records to reconstruct past solar activity.

Keywords

• beryllium‐10
• cosmogenic nuclide
• endogenic travertine
• solar activity