The distribution of 10 Be, as well as the major elements concentrations and the grain size in surface and core sediment samples, collected from Krossfjorden and Kongsfjorden, Svalbard have been studied for under-standing the origin of 10 Be and an estimation of its accu-mulation rate. The 10 Be concentration in sediments varies between 0.90 9 10 8 and 2.53 9 10 8 atoms g -1 . Our results show that atmospherically produced 10 Be dominates over terrigenous (in situ) sources of 10 Be in the studied samples. The calculated 10 Be accumulation rate varies from 3.1 9 10 6 atoms cm -2 year -1 to 8.6 9 10 6 atoms cm -2 year -1 which is higher than the accumulation rate observed in the deep sea sediment cores of the Arctic Ocean and the Norwegian Sea. The higher accumulation rate of 10 Be is attributed to the higher influx of glacier melt water into the fjord system. Keywords 10 Be Á AMS Á Fjord system Á Krossfjorden Á Kongsfjorden Á Arctic Ocean Introduction