#beryllium-10

A strange radioactive 'blip' has been detected deep beneath the Pacific Ocean. Analyzing several thin layers of seafloor crust, scientists in Germany have identified a sudden surge in the radioactive isotope Beryllium-10 sometime between 9–12 million years ago. The beryllium-10 blip was detected in the seabeds of the Central and the Northern Pacific, but the authors behind the study, led by physicist Dominik Koll of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf research institute, say the anomaly could be present throughout the Pacific, maybe even the world. It's unknown where the sudden surge came from, but researchers have a few ideas.