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Abstract

10Be concentrations measured in ice cores exhibit larger temporal variability than expected based on theoretical production calculations. To investigate whether this is due to atmospheric transport a general circulation model study is performed with the 10Be production divided into stratospheric, tropospheric tropical, tropospheric subtropical and tropospheric polar sources. A control run with present day 10Be production rate is compared with a run during a geomagnetic minimum. The present 10Be production rate is 4–5 times higher at high latitudes than in the tropics whereas during a period of no geomagnetic dipole field it is constant at all latitudes. The 10Be deposition fluxes, however, show a very similar latitudinal distribution in both the present day and the geomagnetic minimum run indicating that 10Be is well mixed in the atmosphere before its deposition. This is also confirmed by the fact that the contribution of 10Be produced in the stratosphere is dominant (55%–70%) and relatively constant at all latitudes. The contribution of stratospheric 10Be is approximately 70% in Greenland and 60% in Antarctica reflecting the weaker stratosphere-troposphere air exchange in the Southern Hemisphere.