A fascinating scientific discovery is shedding new light on how cosmic events may have influenced Earth’s environment millions of years ago. A team of international researchers, led by Dr. Dominik Koll, has uncovered evidence of a mysterious radioactive isotope spike deep within the Pacific Ocean — one that could trace back to a nearby supernova explosion about 10 million years ago.
The Beryllium-10 Mystery Beneath the Waves
The story begins with an unexpected finding inside ferromanganese crusts — layers of material that slowly build up on the ocean floor over millions of years. When scientists analyzed these crusts, they found an unusual increase in beryllium-10 (¹⁰Be), a radioactive isotope typically created when cosmic rays collide with atoms in Earth’s atmosphere.
Under normal circumstances, beryllium-10 levels remain relatively steady and evenly distributed around the world. But this particular section of crust showed a sharp, localized spike that couldn’t be explained by ordinary geological or environmental processes. This raised a big question: what could have caused such a sudden burst of cosmic radiation?
Tracing the Source to the Stars
To investigate, Dr. Koll’s team turned to data from the European Space Agency’s Gaia mission, which precisely tracks the positions and movements of stars. By reconstructing the paths of nearby star clusters and the Sun’s own movement through the Milky Way over the last 20 million years, the team was able to pinpoint a possible cosmic culprit.
Their analysis suggests a 68% probability that a supernova exploded within about 326 light-years of our solar system around the same time the beryllium-10 anomaly appeared. Such a stellar explosion would have blasted cosmic rays across space — energetic particles capable of creating the isotope surge found in Earth’s deep-sea record.
Even more remarkably, the researchers identified 19 star clusters that could have hosted this ancient supernova. If one of these explosions indeed occurred nearby, it would mean Earth was briefly showered in cosmic radiation strong enough to leave a measurable fingerprint in its crust.
Why This Discovery Matters
This finding doesn’t just tell a story about the stars — it also offers a new way to connect astronomy and Earth science. If similar beryllium-10 spikes are found in samples from different oceans or continents, it would strongly suggest that Earth’s environment was influenced by a cosmic event.
On the other hand, if the anomaly appears only in specific regions, it could reveal something equally important: a record of ancient ocean circulation changes, where deep currents carried isotopes unevenly across the seafloor.
In either case, the discovery provides scientists with a powerful new tool for understanding how cosmic and terrestrial processes have interacted over geological time. It also raises deeper questions about how often nearby supernovae might have impacted Earth, possibly influencing its climate or even biological evolution.
A Cosmic Fingerprint in Earth’s Geological History
Previous research has found traces of iron-60 (⁶⁰Fe) — another isotope linked to supernovae — in ocean sediments and lunar samples. The new beryllium-10 evidence could complement those findings, offering a clearer picture of how supernova debris interacts with our planet’s atmosphere and oceans.
If confirmed globally, this would be one of the strongest indicators yet that Earth’s geological record preserves the signatures of nearby cosmic explosions. Such supernovae might not have been close enough to cause extinction events, but they could still have influenced atmospheric chemistry, radiation levels, or even cloud formation.
The Road Ahead: Expanding the Search
The researchers emphasize that more data is needed to confirm their hypothesis. Future studies will focus on collecting ferromanganese crust samples from multiple oceans and applying high-precision isotope analysis to detect similar patterns.
If the anomaly is found to be widespread, it could serve as a new global time marker — a natural timestamp linking Earth’s geological record with a dramatic event in the galaxy.
Bridging the Ocean and the Cosmos
This discovery is a striking reminder that Earth doesn’t exist in isolation. Our planet’s story is written not only in its rocks, oceans, and atmosphere, but also in the starlit events that unfold beyond our sky.
The collaboration between geochemists and astrophysicists marks an exciting new chapter in understanding how cosmic phenomena have quietly shaped Earth’s past — and perhaps, its future.
Source:
Koll, D. et al. (2025). “A cosmogenic 10Be anomaly during the late Miocene as a global time marker.” Nature Communications.