Circumpolar Deep Water upwelling is a primary source of 10 Be in Antarctic continental shelf sediments

Beryllium-10 ( 10 Be) has been proposed as a potential proxy for investigating ice shelf presence and absence, or meltwater discharge in coastal polar environments. However, the sources and distribution of atmospherically produced meteoric- 10 Be in the Antarctic marine realm are yet to be fully characterized, making any inferences about its concentration in sediments challenging. We present a dataset of 9 Be and 10 Be concentrations, and 10 Be/ 9 Be ratios in seafloor surface sediments from the Antarctic continental shelf - including from sub ice shelf cores - to assess the sources and processes contributing Be-isotopes to ice-sheet proximal marine settings. We show that upwelling waters (e.g. Circumpolar Deep Water) are a significant source of 10 Be to continental shelf sediments. This limits the use of 10 Be/ 9 Be as a proxy for ice shelf environment or meltwater discharge, but instead provides a potential proxy for reconstructing Circumpolar Deep Water incursions onto Antarctic continental shelves.