A quasi-monthly record of 10Be concentration at Law Dome, Antarctica, from 2000 to 2015

This paper presents an overview of work undertaken over a number of Australian Antarctic Science projects, beginning in season 2001/02 with a shallow snow pit. In season 2005/06 this was augmented with a 260 m thermally drilled ice core and a 4.5 m snow pit. A core taken in 2008/09 overlapped the 2005/06 core and pit samples. From 2009/10, short cores spanning a few year’s deposition, along with snow pit samples spanning about half a year, have been taken each season. This has continued through to the current 2015/16 season. The cores permit an overlap with earlier years to match the chronology and to yield samples for 10Be analysis at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) by the technique of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). Together, the data provide a unique, continuous, quasi-monthly record over 2000 to 2015 as we have moved from Solar Cycle 23 to 24. The snow pits yield larger samples for 7Be analysis, earlier by gamma spectroscopy but lately by AMS. Along with comparison with neutron monitor data and GCM modelling, this unique, high-precision record has enabled us to learn much about the production, transport and deposition of 10Be to Law Dome and to improve our use of 10Be as a proxy for past solar variability