Phase of solar activity affects response of solar proxy 10Be

The solar proxy 10Be, measured in natural archives, has previously been assumed to lag solar activity by 1–2 yr. This reflects its residence time in the stratosphere where its main source lies. This study, based on a 30-yr global model simulation of the atmospheric transport of 10Be, shows that the stratospheric fraction of production varies significantly with the phase of solar activity. This leads to a lag between production change and deposition response of ca. 1 yr during the decreasing phase of solar activity but nearly no lag when solar activity increases. No lag is found for 7Be. The fraction of 10Be production in the stratosphere varies from ca. 65% to 69% between solar minimum ( ϕ = 400   MV ) and maximum ( ϕ = 1200   MV ), being highest during low solar activity when production is highest. When solar activity starts to decrease and production rate increase, the change is largest in polar stratosphere where residence time is long. This leads to a delayed response in 10Be deposition. When production rate decreases, the relative production change is larger in the troposphere, leading to a quicker deposition response. The difference between phases is larger in southern hemisphere. The form of reconstructed 11-yr cycles based on high-resolution 10Be records could therefore be biased if no correction is applied.