Abstract
Seven estimates of the global 14C production rate at solar minimum (1965, S=15) and solar maximum (1969, .S-106) were published between 1970 and 1980. Six of these are is good agreement at 2.47±0.19 (a, S=15) and 2.02±0.13 (σ, S=106). The seventh estimate is 22% lower. Nevertheless, modelers of 14C fluctuation have used this lowest production rate because it is consistent with their estimates of the 14C inventory. Standard models for the global 14C cycle do not include sedimentary reservoirs because the flux to sediments is considered to be negligibly small. However, 14C accumulates in sediments over its 8270-year mean Iife and constitutes a significant part of the total pre-anthropogenic 14C inventory (24%) and should be included in 14C fluctuation models. Addition of sedimentary sink reservoirs yields global 14C decay rates that are consistent with the six higher estimates of global 14C production rates. The carbon flux to sediments is being anthropogenically enhanced and may account for a significant part of the “mising” carbon in the 20th century global carbon cycle.
The atmosphere responds to and integrates changes in the global rate of 14C production with a lag time of only a few years. Unfortunately other proxy indicators of the geophysical environment, such as climate and geomagnetism, are strongly biased by regional varia- tions. Considering this limitation, the archaeomagnetic record is consistent with long-term modulation of 14C production by changes in the Earth’s magnetic field yielding the envelope of the Δ14C temporal fluctuation curve. The envelope in turn is modulated by solar activity with a strong 200-year quasi-cyclic “wiggle” component. The most intense Maunder minimum-type “wiggles” occur every 2100 to 2400 years. These wiggles, unlike the wiggles of lesser intensity, appear to be independent of the strength of the Earth’s dipole moment. Results of the NASA Solar Maximum Mission indicate a direct linear relationship between the total solar irradiance and sunspot number with a decrease in luminosity of 0.1% over the five-year period from solar maximum to solar minimum. This is consistent with the previous- ly suggested correlation of climate with Δ14C and sunspots. However, confirmation requires a longer record of total solar irradiance and integration of proxy climate records on a reasonable approximation to global coverage.
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Damon, P.E. (1988). Production and Decay of Radiocarbon and its Modulation by Geomagnetic Field-Solar Activity Changes with Possible Implications for Global Environment. In: Stephenson, F.R., Wolfendale, A.W. (eds) Secular Solar and Geomagnetic Variations in the Last 10,000 Years. NATO ASI Series, vol 236. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3011-7_16
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