Live ^ { 60 } { Fe } has recently been detected in a deep-ocean ferromanganese crust , isolated in layers dating from about 3 Myr ago .
Since ^ { 60 } { Fe } has a mean life of 2.2 Myr , a near-Earth supernova is the only likely source for such a signal , and we explore here the consequences of a supernova origin .
We combine the ^ { 60 } { Fe } data with several supernova nucleosynthesis models to calculate the supernova distance as a function of progenitor mass , finding an allowed range of 15 - 120 pc .
We also predict the signals expected for several other radioisotopes , which are independent of the supernova distance .
Species likely to be present near or above background levels are ^ { 10 } { Be } , ^ { 26 } { Al } , ^ { 53 } { Mn } , ^ { 182 } { Hf } and ^ { 244 } { Pu } .
Of these , ^ { 182 } { Hf } and ^ { 244 } { Pu } are nearly background-free , presenting the best opportunities to provide strong confirmation of the supernova origin of the ^ { 60 } { Fe } signal , and to demonstrate that at least some supernovae are the source for the r -process .
The accuracies of our predictions are hampered by large uncertainties in the predicted ^ { 60 } { Fe } yields for supernovae of different masses , so the new crust data motivate a redoubled theoretical attack on this problem .