Fusa Miyake

Last updated
Fusa Miyake
NationalityJapanese
Alma materNagoya University
Scientific career
Fieldscosmic ray physics; isotope abundance and dating

Fusa Miyake is a cosmic ray physicist at Nagoya University, Japan, whose work measuring isotope abundances led to recognition of so-called Miyake events. These have resulted in reconciling differences between dates from documents and materials such as ice-cores and tree rings.

Contents

Scientific career

Fusa Miyake gained her doctorate from Nagoya University in 2013 and was then appointed as an assistant professor. In 2017 she was promoted to associate professor in the Division for Cosmic Ray Research within the Space-Earth Environmental Research Division. [1]

Her doctoral research identified events in the wood of long-lived Japanese cedar trees, now called Miyake events, where there are sudden increases in cosmogenic isotopes such as radioactive carbon isotope 14
C
, 10
Be
and 36
Cl
produced by cosmic rays originating from the Sun when large solar flares or eruptions occur. Although the event was initially proposed to be a signature of an unidentified supernova, [2] it was soon independently confirmed and proven to be the discovery of an extreme solar particle event. [3] [4] The measurements utilised the 14
C
polymer cellulose extracted from tree-rings formed in individual years that could be measured using accelerator mass spectrometry. [2] [5] Detection of these isotopes in materials such as tree-rings and ice cores. Measuring these isotopes in materials that have been independently dated allow the events to be dated with precision. This gives information about the Sun's long-term activity. She identified an event in 775 during her doctoral work, [6] and along with colleagues, has subsequently identified events centred on 993-4 [7] and also 660 and 5480 BCE. [8] By 2023, 6 Miyake events had been identified. [5]

Her subsequent research with worldwide collaborators, and that of other researchers, has suggested that the source of the radiation causing Miyake events is more complicated than from single solar events. Some may be from multiple solar flares, influenced by tree physiology or by interactions of high energy particles with the Earth's magnetic field. [5]

Publications

Miyake is the author or coauthor of over 50 scientific publications and books. These include:

Awards

In 2017 Miyake received an Commendation Award for Young Scientists from the Japanese Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. In 2022 she received the José A. Boninsegna Frontiers in Dendrochronology Award from the Tree-Ring Society. [1] [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radiocarbon dating</span> Method of determining the age of objects

Radiocarbon dating is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon, a radioactive isotope of carbon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dendrochronology</span> Method of dating based on the analysis of patterns of tree rings

Dendrochronology is the scientific method of dating tree rings to the exact year they were formed in a tree. As well as dating them, this can give data for dendroclimatology, the study of climate and atmospheric conditions during different periods in history from the wood of old trees. Dendrochronology derives from the Ancient Greek dendron, meaning "tree", khronos, meaning "time", and -logia, "the study of".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carbon-14</span> Isotope of carbon

Carbon-14, C-14, 14
C
or radiocarbon, is a radioactive isotope of carbon with an atomic nucleus containing 6 protons and 8 neutrons. Its presence in organic materials is the basis of the radiocarbon dating method pioneered by Willard Libby and colleagues (1949) to date archaeological, geological and hydrogeological samples. Carbon-14 was discovered on February 27, 1940, by Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben at the University of California Radiation Laboratory in Berkeley, California. Its existence had been suggested by Franz Kurie in 1934.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solar cycle</span> Periodic change in the Suns activity

The solar cycle, also known as the solar magnetic activity cycle, sunspot cycle, or Schwabe cycle, is a nearly periodic 11-year change in the Sun's activity measured in terms of variations in the number of observed sunspots on the Sun's surface. Over the period of a solar cycle, levels of solar radiation and ejection of solar material, the number and size of sunspots, solar flares, and coronal loops all exhibit a synchronized fluctuation from a period of minimum activity to a period of a maximum activity back to a period of minimum activity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Advanced Composition Explorer</span> NASA satellite of the Explorer program

Advanced Composition Explorer is a NASA Explorer program satellite and space exploration mission to study matter comprising energetic particles from the solar wind, the interplanetary medium, and other sources.

The Spörer Minimum is a hypothesized 90-year span of low solar activity, from about 1460 until 1550, which was identified and named by John A. Eddy in a landmark 1976 paper published in Science titled "The Maunder Minimum". It occurred before sunspots had been directly observed and was discovered instead by analysis of the proportion of carbon-14 in tree rings, which is strongly correlated with solar activity. It is named for the German astronomer Gustav Spörer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beryllium-10</span> Isotope of beryllium

Beryllium-10 (10Be) is a radioactive isotope of beryllium. It is formed in the Earth's atmosphere mainly by cosmic ray spallation of nitrogen and oxygen. Beryllium-10 has a half-life of 1.39 × 106 years, and decays by beta decay to stable boron-10 with a maximum energy of 556.2 keV. It decays through the reaction 10Be→10B + e. Light elements in the atmosphere react with high energy galactic cosmic ray particles. The spallation of the reaction products is the source of 10Be (t, u particles like n or p):

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cosmic dust</span> Dust floating in space

Cosmic dust – also called extraterrestrial dust, space dust, or star dust – is dust that occurs in outer space or has fallen onto Earth. Most cosmic dust particles measure between a few molecules and 0.1 mm (100 μm), such as micrometeoroids. Larger particles are called meteoroids. Cosmic dust can be further distinguished by its astronomical location: intergalactic dust, interstellar dust, interplanetary dust, and circumplanetary dust. There are several methods to obtain space dust measurement.

Beryllium (4Be) has 11 known isotopes and 3 known isomers, but only one of these isotopes is stable and a primordial nuclide. As such, beryllium is considered a monoisotopic element. It is also a mononuclidic element, because its other isotopes have such short half-lives that none are primordial and their abundance is very low. Beryllium is unique as being the only monoisotopic element with both an even number of protons and an odd number of neutrons. There are 25 other monoisotopic elements but all have odd atomic numbers, and even numbers of neutrons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solar energetic particles</span> High-energy particles from the Sun

Solar energetic particles (SEP), formerly known as solar cosmic rays, are high-energy, charged particles originating in the solar atmosphere and solar wind. They consist of protons, electrons and heavy ions with energies ranging from a few tens of keV to many GeV. The exact processes involved in transferring energy to SEPs is a subject of ongoing study.

A neutron monitor is a ground-based detector designed to measure the number of high-energy charged particles striking the Earth's atmosphere from outer space. For historical reasons the incoming particles are called "cosmic rays", but in fact they are particles, predominantly protons and Helium nuclei. Most of the time, a neutron monitor records galactic cosmic rays and their variation with the 11-year sunspot cycle and 22-year magnetic cycle. Occasionally the Sun emits cosmic rays of sufficient energy and intensity to raise radiation levels on Earth's surface to the degree that they are readily detected by neutron monitors. They are termed "ground level enhancements" (GLE).

Superflares are very strong explosions observed on stars with energies up to ten thousand times that of typical solar flares. The stars in this class satisfy conditions which should make them solar analogues, and would be expected to be stable over very long time scales. The original nine candidates were detected by a variety of methods. No systematic study was possible until the launch of the Kepler space telescope, which monitored a very large number of solar-type stars with very high accuracy for an extended period. This showed that a small proportion of stars had violent outbursts. In many cases there were multiple events on the same star. Younger stars were more likely to flare than old ones, but strong events were seen on stars as old as the Sun.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">774–775 carbon-14 spike</span> Observed increase concentration of carbon-14 in tree rings dated 774 or 775

The 774–775 carbon-14 spike is an observed increase of around 1.2% in the concentration of the radioactive carbon-14 isotope in tree rings dated to 774 or 775 CE, which is about 20 times higher than the normal year-to-year variation of radiocarbon in the atmosphere. It was discovered during a study of Japanese cedar tree-rings, with the year of occurrence determined through dendrochronology. A surge in beryllium isotope 10
Be
, detected in Antarctic ice cores, has also been associated with the 774–775 event. The 774–775 CE carbon-14 spike is one of several Miyake events and it produced the largest and most rapid rise in carbon-14 ever recorded.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solar particle event</span> Solar phenomenon

In solar physics, a solar particle event (SPE), also known as a solar energetic particle event or solar radiation storm, is a solar phenomenon which occurs when particles emitted by the Sun, mostly protons, become accelerated either in the Sun's atmosphere during a solar flare or in interplanetary space by a coronal mass ejection shock. Other nuclei such as helium and HZE ions may also be accelerated during the event. These particles can penetrate the Earth's magnetic field and cause partial ionization of the ionosphere. Energetic protons are a significant radiation hazard to spacecraft and astronauts.

Minze Stuiver was a Dutch geochemist who was at the forefront of geoscience research from the 1960s until his retirement in 1998. He helped transform radiocarbon dating from a simple tool for archaeology and geology to a precise technique with applications in solar physics, oceanography, geochemistry, and carbon dynamics. Minze Stuiver's research encompassed the use of radiocarbon (14C) to understand solar cycles and radiocarbon production, ocean circulation, lake carbon dynamics and archaeology as well as the use of stable isotopes to document past climate changes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">993–994 carbon-14 spike</span> Solar storm

The 993–994 carbon-14 spike was a rapid 0.91% increase in carbon-14 isotope content from tree rings dated 993-994 CE. This event was also confirmed with an associated increase of beryllium-10 in Antarctic ice core samples, supporting the hypothesis that this event was of solar origin. There were several astronomical observations during this time that correspond with the 14C and 10Be spikes, but these texts are few and far between.

A Miyake event is an observed sharp enhancement of the production of cosmogenic isotopes by cosmic rays. It can be marked by a spike in the concentration of radioactive carbon isotope 14
C
in tree rings, as well as 10
Be
and 36
Cl
in ice cores, which are all independently dated. At present, five significant events are known for which the spike in 14
C
is quite remarkable, i.e. above 1% rise over a period of 2 years, and four more events need independent confirmation. It is not known how often Miyake events occur, but from the available data it is estimated to be every 400–2400 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ilya G. Usoskin</span> Finnish Astrophysicist

Ilya G. Usoskin is a Finnish astrophysicist who is a professor at University of Oulu and head of Cosmic Ray Station at Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory. He is a Vice President of the International Astronomical Union since 2021.

References

  1. 1 2 "MIYAKE Fusa". Nagoya University. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  2. 1 2 Miyake, F.; Nagaya, K.; Masuda, K.; Nakamura, T. (2012). "A signature of cosmic-ray increase in AD 774–775 from tree rings in Japan". Nature . 486 (7402): 240–242. Bibcode:2012Natur.486..240M. doi:10.1038/nature11123. PMID   22699615.
  3. Usoskin, F.; Kromer, B.; Ludlow, F.; Beer, J.; Friedrich, M.; Kovaltsov, G.; Solanki, S.K.; Wacker, L. (2013). "The AD775 cosmic event revisited: the Sun is to blame". Astron. Astrophys. Lett. 552: L3. arXiv: 1302.6897 . Bibcode:2013A&A...552L...3U. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201321080.
  4. Usoskin, F.; Kovaltsov, G. (2012). "Occurrence of Extreme Solar Particle Events: Assessment from Historical Proxy Data". Astrophys. J. 757 (1): 92. arXiv: 1207.5932 . Bibcode:2012ApJ...757...92U. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/757/1/92.
  5. 1 2 3 Kornei, Katherine. "Mystery of ancient space superstorms deepens". Scientific American. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  6. Miyake, Fusa; Masuda, Kimiaki; Nakamura, Toshio (2013). "Another rapid event in the carbon-14 content of tree rings". Nature Communications. 4: 1748. Bibcode:2013NatCo...4.1748M. doi: 10.1038/ncomms2783 . PMID   23612289. S2CID   256624509.
  7. Miyake, Fusa; Masuda, Kimiaki; Nakamura, Toshio (2013). "Another rapid event in the carbon-14 content of tree rings". Nature Communications. 4: 1748. Bibcode:2013NatCo...4.1748M. doi:10.1038/ncomms2783. PMID   23612289 . Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  8. Carlson, Erika K. (29 May 2020). "Sun's Past Hidden in Tree Rings". Physics. 13: 78. Bibcode:2020PhyOJ..13...78.. doi:10.1103/Physics.13.78 . Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  9. "José A. Boninsegna Frontiers in Dendrochronology Award was given to Associate Professor Fusa Miyake". Nagoya University - Institute for Space-Earth Environmental Research. Retrieved 20 February 2024.