Recent developments in the analysis of the Black Mat Layer and cosmic impact at 12.8 ka

Auteur(s) et Affiliation(s)

MAHANEY, W.C.

Quaternary Surveys, Ontario, Thornhill, Canada

Dept. of Geography, Univ. Ontario, York, Canada

KEISER, L.

Dept. of Geological Sciences, Univ. of Oklahoma, Norman, Etats-Unis

KRINSLEY, D.H.

Dep. of Geological Sciences, Univ. Oregon, Eugene, Etats-Unis

WEST, A.

GeoScience Consulting, Arizona, Dewey, Etats-Unis

DIRSZOWSKY, R.

Dept. of Earth Science, Laurentian Univ., Ontario, Sudbury, Canada

ALLEN, C.C.R.

Dept. of Biological Sciences, Queen's Univ., Belfast, Royaume-Uni

COSTA, P.

Centro de Geologia, Fac. de Ciências, Univ., Lisboa, Portugal

Dept. of Geography, School of the Environment, Univ., Dundee, Royaume-Uni

Description :
New analytical databases reveal a corpus of data indicating that the cosmic impact was a real event, most possibly a cosmic airburst from Earth's encounter with the Taurid Complex comet or unknown asteroid, an event that led to cosmic fragments exploding interhemispherically over widely dispersed areas, including the northern Andes of Venezuela and the Alps on the Italian/French frontier. While the databases in the 2 areas differ somewhat, the overall interpretation is that microtextural evidence in weathering rinds and in sands of associated paleosols and glaciofluvial deposits carry undeniable attributes of melted glassy carbon and Fe spherules, planar deformation features, and impacted minerals of diverse lithologies. In concert with other black mat localities in the Western USA, the Netherlands, coastal France, Syria, Central Asia, Peru, Argentina and Mexico, it appears that a widespread cosmic impact by an asteroid or comet is responsible for deposition of the black mat at the onset of the Younger Dryas glacial event.

Type de document :
Article de périodique

Source :
Geografiska annaler. Series A. Physical geography, issn : 0435-3676, 2014, vol. 96, n°. 1, p. 99-111, nombre de pages : 13, Références bibliographiques : 2 p.

Date :
2014

Editeur :
Pays édition : Suede, Stockholm, Svenska sällskapet för antropologi och geografi

Langue :
Anglais