The extraterrestrial dust flux: size distribution and mass contribution estimates inferred from the Transantarctic Mountain (TAM) micrometeorite collection

This study explores the long-duration (0.8-2.3Ma), time-averaged micrometeorite flux (mass and size distribution) reaching Earth, as recorded by the Transantarctic Mountain (TAM) micrometeorite collection. We investigate a single sediment trap (TAM65), performing an exhaustive recovery and characterization effort and identifying 1643 micrometeorites (between 100-2000μm). Approximately 7% of particles are unmelted or scoriaceous, of which 75% are fine-grained. Among cosmic spherules, 95.6% are silicate-dominated S-types, and further subdivided into porphyritic (16.9%), barred olivine (19.9%), cryptocrystalline (51.6%) and vitreous (7.5%). Our (rank)-size distribution is fit against a power law with a slope of -3.9 (R²=0.98) over the size range 200-700μm. However, the distribution is also bimodal, with peaks centered at ~145μm and ~250μm. Remarkably similar peak positions are observed in the Larkman Nunatak data. These observations suggest that the micrometeorite flux is composed of multiple dust sources with distinct size distributions. In terms of mass, the TAM65 trap contains 1.77g of extraterrestrial dust in 15kg of sediment (<5mm). Upscaling to a global annual estimate gives 1,555 (±753) t/yr – consistent with previous micrometeorite abundance estimates and almost identical to the previous South Pole Water Well flux estimate (~1,600 t/yr) and potentially suggesting minimal variation in the background cosmic dust flux over the Quaternary. The greatest uncertainty in our mass flux calculation is the accumulation window. A minimum age (0.8Ma) is robustly inferred from the presence of Australasian microtektites, while the upper age (~2.3Ma) is loosely constrained based on ¹⁰Be exposure dating of glacial surfaces at Roberts Butte (6km from our sample site).