Beryllium-10 in Australasian Tektites: Evidence for a Sedimentary Precursor

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Abstract
Each of seven Australasian tektites contains about 1 x l08 atoms of beryllium-10 (half-life, 1.53 x 106 years) per gram. Cosmic-ray bombardment of the australites cannot have produced the measured amounts of beryllium-10 either at the earth's surface or in space. The beryllium-10 contents of these australites are consistent with a sedimentary precursor that adsorbed from precipitation beryllium-10 produced in the atmosphere. The sediments must have spent several thousand years at the earth's surface within a few million years of the tektite-producing event.