The relationship between 10Be and geomagnetic field strength records in central North Atlantic sediments during the last 80 ka

A profile of leached 10Be/9Be has been measured in an 80 ka sediment core from the northeast Atlantic Ocean. This profile shows a significant inverse correlation with the palaeomagnetic intensity profile inferred from NRM/ARM measurements in the same core, particularly between ∼ 40 and 50 ka, where a rapid decrease in field intensity is accompanied by a rapid increase in 10Be/9Be. The extent to which this increase in 10Be/9Be at ∼ 40 ka is associated with a 10Be “peak” seen in polar ice cores at about the same time, remains speculative.