Extraterrestrial ^3He in seafloor sediments: Evidence for correlated 100 kyr periodicity in the accretion rate of interplanetary dust, orbital parameters, and Quaternary climate

Abstract

We have determined the helium abundance and isotopic composition of seafloor carbonate sediments from the flanks of the Ontong Java Plateau, western equatorial Pacific Ocean (ODP Site 806). These results provide a two million year record of the burial flux of extraterrestrial ^3He, which we believe is a proxy for the terrestrial accretion rate of interplanetary dust particles. The ^3He burial flux prior to ∼700 ka was relatively low, ∼0.5 pcc cm^(−2) kyr^(−1), but from 700 ka to the present, the burial flux gradually increased to a value of ∼1.0 pcc cm^(−2) kyr^(−1). 100 kyr periodicity in the ^3He burial flux is apparent over the last 700 kyr and correlates with the oxygen isotope record of global climate, with high ^3He burial fluxes associated with interglacial periods. This periodicity and phase are consistent with previous ^3He measurements in North Atlantic sediments. Although 100 kyr periodicity in ^3He burial flux is in agreement with recent predictions of the accretion rate of interplanetary dust based on a model of the orbital evolution of asteroidal debris, the measurements and predictions differ by one half cycle in phase. Nevertheless, our observations suggest the terrestrial accretion rate of interplanetary dust is controlled by orbital eccentricity and/or inclination relative to the solar-system invariable plane. Such control is a necessary but not sufficient condition for the hypothesis of Muller and MacDonald (1995) that variations in extraterrestrial dust accretion modulates terrestrial climate with a 100 kyr period. We also identify several brief (<25 kyr) intervals of strongly enhanced ^3He burial, possibly related to random and transient fluctuations in the accretion rate of asteroidal or cometary dust particles.