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Skeptics of the YDIB hypothesis frequently state that “no one can reproduce the YDIB results” (Kerr, 2010); “nobody has found anything” (Kerr, 2010); there is a “lack of reproducibility of data” (Holliday, 2011); and “unique peaks in concentrations at the YD onset have yet to be reproduced” Pinter (2011). These casual dismissals are hurtful to the investigation, and demonstrably false. That independent researchers have identified materials diagnostic of an event of cosmic proportions at 12.9 before present should not be subject to debate.
To wit, I offer below citations of published research confirming the original findings of Firestone, et. al. in 2007. Note that some of these researchers disagree with an extraterrestrial impact as cause and offered alternate hypotheses, but, in every case, those speculating about causation have not conducted any analytical work to determine if their hypotheses are correct.
INDEPENDENT GROUPS with positive results:
MAGNETIC SPHERULES.
Baker et al. (2008)
Fayek (2008)
Ge et al. (2009, page 1)
Haynes et al. (2010, page 1)
LeCompte et al. (2010)
Mahaney (2010a, page 10)
Wu (2011)
NANODIAMONDS.
Ge et al. (2009, page 1)
Tankersley (2009)
Tian (2010, page 1)
Van Hoesel (2011)
Bement et al. (2011)
IRIDIUM.
Beets et al. (2008, page 1)
Sharma et al. (2009)
Haynes et al. (2010, page 1)
Mahaney (2010a, page 10)
Marshall (2011)
Wu (2011)
CARBON SPHERULES and GLASS-LIKE CARBON (some w/ NANODIAMONDS)
Mahaney (2010a, page 10)
Tian (2010, page 1)
Courty et al. (2010)
Ge et al. (2009, page 1)
Baker et al. (2008, page 1)
Tankersley (2009)
CHARCOAL AND BIOMASS BURNING:
Mahaney et al. (2010b)
Ge et al. (2009)
Courty et al. (2010)
HUMAN AND ANIMAL POPULATION DECLINES.
Schroeder (2009)
Steele (2010)
CRATER or IMPACT.
Higgins, et al. (2011)
REFERENCES.
Baker DW, Miranda PJ, Gibbs KE. (2008) Montana Evidence for Extra-Terrestrial Impact Event That Caused Ice-Age Mammal Die-Off. American Geophysical Union, Spring Meeting 2008, abstract #P41A-05.
Beets C, Sharma M, Kasse K, Bohncke S. (2008) Search for Extraterrestrial Osmium at the Allerod – Younger Dryas Boundary. American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2008, abstract #V53A-2150.
Bement L, Carter BJ, Simms A, Madden A. (2011) The Bull Creek valley stream terraces, buried soils, and paleo-environment during the Younger Dryas in the Oklahoma Panhandle, USA. Paper #1447, XVIII INQUA-Congress, 21-27 July 2011 in Bern, Switzerland.
Bunch Ted E., James Wittke, Allen West, James Kennett. (2011) Shock-melt Evidence for a Cosmic Impact with Earth during the Younger Dryas at 12.9 ka. Abstract 1606, Session 60, XVIII INQUA-Congress, 21-27 July 2011 in Bern, Switzerland. http://www.inqua2011.ch/?a=programme&subnavi=abstract&id=1606
Courty MA, Fedoroff M. (2010) Soil morphologic indicators of environmental hazards linked to cosmic airburst. 19th World Congress of Soil Science, Brisbane.
Daulton T, Pinter N, Scott A (2010) “No evidence of nanodiamonds in Younger-Dryas sediments to support an impact event”. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 107 (37): 16043–16047
Fayek, M.; Hull, S.; Anovitz, L.; Haynes, V.; Bergen, L. (2008) Evidence of impact material and the extinction of the mega-fauna 12,900 years ago. American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2008, abstract #PP13C-1469.
Firestone RB, et al. (2007) Evidence for an extraterrestrial impact 12,900 years ago that contributed to the megafaunal extinctions and the Younger Dryas cooling. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 104:16016–16021.
Firestone RB. (2009) The Case for the Younger Dryas Extraterrestrial Impact Event: Mammoth, Megafauna, and Clovis Extinction, 12,900 Years Ago. Journal of Cosmology (journalofcosmology.com)
Ge T, Courty MM, Guichard F (2009) Field-Analytical approach of land-sea records for elucidating the Younger Dryas Boundary syndrome. American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2009, abstract #PP31D-1390.
Haynes CV, Jr, Lauretta DS, Ballenger JAM. (2010) Reply to Firestone et al.: No confirmation of impact at the lower Younger Dryas boundary at Murray Springs, AZ. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 107, issue 26, pp. E106-E106.
Holliday V. (2011) A Cosmic Catastrophe: the Great Clovis Comet Debate. http://www.argonaut.arizona.edu/Clovis_Comet_Debate.html
Kennett DJ, et al. (2009a) Shock-synthesized hexagonal diamonds in Younger Dryas boundary Sediments, Proc Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 106 (31): 12623-12628.
Kennett DJ, et al. (2009b) Nanodiamonds in the Younger Dryas boundary sediment layer. Science 323:94.
Kerr RA. (2010) Mammoth-Killer Impact Flunks Out. Science 3 September 2010: 1140-1141.
LeCompte MA, Goodyear AC, Demitroff M, Batchelor D, Mooney C. (2010) An Independent Review of the Younger Dryas Extraterrestrial Impact Hypothesis and its Recent Re-Evaluation by Surovell et al. 21st Biennial Meeting of the American Quaternary Association (AMQUA). Laramie, Wyoming.
Mahaney WC, et al. (2010a) Evidence from the northwestern Venezuelan Andes for extraterrestrial impact: The black mat enigma. Geomorphology, v. 116, iss. 1-2, p. 48-57.
Mahaney WC, Krinsley D, Kalm V (2010b) Evidence for a cosmogenic origin of fired glaciofluvial beds in the northwestern Andes: Correlation with experimentally heated quartz and feldspar. Sedimentary Geology, v. 231, iss. 1-2, p. 31-40.
Mahaney WC, David Krinsley, Kurt Langworthy, Kris Hart, Volli Kalm, Pierre Tricart and Stephane Schwartz. (2011a) Fired glaciofluvial sediment in the northwestern Andes: Biotic aspects of the Black Mat. Sedimentary Geology. 237, (1-2), pp73-83.
Mahaney, WC, Dave Krinsley, James Dohm, Volli Kalm, Kurt Langworthy and J. Ditto. (2011b) Notes on the black mat sediment, Mucunuque Catchment, northern Mérida Andes, Venezuela.. Journal of Advanced Microscopic Research, vol. 6, no. 3.
Marshall W, Head K, Clough R, Fisher A. (2011) Exceptional iridium concentrations found at the Allerød-Younger Dryas transition in sediments from Bodmin Moor in southwest England. Paper #2641, XVIII INQUA-Congress, 21-27 July 2011 in Bern, Switzerland.
McDonough W, Sun S (1995) The composition of the Earth. Chem Geol 120:223–253.
Pinter N, et al. (2011) The Younger Dryas impact hypothesis: A requiem, Earth Science Reviews (in press).
Schroeder KB. (2009) Haplotypic background of a private allele at high frequency in the Americas. Molecular biology and evolution 2009;26(5):995-1016.
Scruggs, MA, Raab LM, Murowchick JS, Stone MW, Niemi TM. (2010) Investigation of Sediment Containing Evidence of the Younger Dryas Boundary (YPB) Impact Event, El Carrizal, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 42, No. 2, p. 101.
Sharma M, Chen C, Jackson BP, Abouchami W. (2009) High resolution Osmium isotopes in deep-sea ferromanganese crusts reveal a large meteorite impact in the Central Pacific at 12 ± 4 ka. American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2009, abstract #PP33B-06.
Steele J. (2010) Radiocarbon dates as data: quantitative strategies for estimating colonization front speeds and event densities. Journal of Archaeological Science 37/8, p. 2017-2030.
Surovell TA, et al. (2009) An Independent Evaluation of the Younger Dryas Extraterrestrial Impact Hypothesis. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 104: 18155–18158.
Tankersley K. (2009) “Evidence of the Clovis Age Comet at Sheriden Cave, Ohio.” Midwest Chapter of the Friends of Mineralogy Symposium and Field Conference (Geology Department of Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, USA), 5 September 2009. http://www1.newark.ohio-state.edu/Professional/OSU/Faculty/jstjohn/Geology-talks/Tankersley-talk.htm
Tian H, Schryvers D, Claeys P (2011) Nanodiamonds do not provide unique evidence for a Younger Dryas impact. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 108, issue 1, pp. 40-44.
Van der Hammen T., van Geel B. (2008) Charcoal in soils of the Allerød-Younger Dryas transition were the result of natural fires and not necessarily the effect of an extra-terrestrial impact. Netherlands Journal of Geosciences, vol. 87, 4, pp. 359-361.
Van Hoesel A, Hoek W, Braadbaart F, van der Plicht H, Drury MR. (2011) Nanodiamonds and the Usselo layer. Paper #1556, XVIII INQUA-Congress, 21-27 July 2011 in Bern, Switzerland.
Wu Y. (2011) Origin and Provenance of Magnetic Spherules at the Younger Dryas Boundary. Thesis, Dartmouth College.
Hi George –
Please give a better citation for Higgins et al., 2011
Ed -
This appears to be the link to the Higgins et al 2011 paper:
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2011/pdf/1504.pdf
Higgins et al (2011) BATHYMETRIC AND PETROLOGICAL EVIDENCE FOR A YOUNG (PLEISTOCENE?) 4-KM DIAMETER IMPACT CRATER IN THE GULF OF SAINT LAWRENCE, CANADA, 42nd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (2011)
Hello fo All
If the Corossol crater is older than 12,900 years it was formed over the ice sheet. It seems to be too small to have an effect beyond just local, it was not likely responsible for the demise of the Ice Age. At most anything sub-continental. It not cause mass extinction in Brazil.
If the Corossol crater was originated from a fragment of a dying comet, there should be other (fragments) craters. Where were they? A crater appears very little. With a field of craters, the thing would be more interesting, although the craters are smaller in size. At this point, the argument of the craters is still very weak.
The Corossol structure (big girl) is quite circular, may be the result of a small sporadic asteroid in perpendicular falling. Yes, bigger than that of Berringer.
regards
pierson
Thanks Steve
Hi Pierson – You are correct, but the feature is much younger than 10,900 BCE, as that is the date for its floor. Evidence of the impact mega-tsunami should show up on the resulting land areas, resulting in much more precise dating.
My guess is that it most likely occurred just prior to 8,350 BCE, the start of the Canadian Maritime Archaic.
The Canadians have had some luck, as there are likely to be pooled hydrocarbons in the shatter zone around this impact. But my estimate is that it is not part of the Holocene Start Impacts.
Pierson, we need some dating on the Iltrude and the Loydminster structures. The surface burning seems to have been focused around the northwest of North America.
That said, this find should raise public awareness as to the severity of the impact hazard.
Hi Pierson –
Another point that needs to be worked on – the extinctions were caused by the “nuclear winter” following the Holocene Start Impacts.
The animals starved to death.
This being the case, which animals died, their food requirements, food storage abilities (fat) and ranges are important. You have the South American data at hand to analyze.
Hi EP
Yes, there are very interesting myths in this region of Canada, its rock arts are quite similar to other found in other parts of the world, Raven myth:
http://www.spirasolaris.ca/sbb4g1bv3.html
I believe that after the great increase of energy in the atmosphere (+10°C), caused by the impacts (oceanic, terrestrial, atmospheric), released large amounts of water in the seas and into the atmosphere. Water that used to be in the form of ice in glaciers.
Inside the northeastern region of Brazil in the late Pleistocene climate was dry (much of the water was frozen at the poles) and cooler (maybe 8 or 10 degrees less than the current average 25°C), and similar to a savanna, but perhaps with perennial rivers. Yes, “I have nothing to do with it” but, it seemed a paradise, was not the danger of the megafauna.
Today, the region is semiarid, there is little rain and it is warmer, the rivers are intermit and rainfall is variable. The current vegetation (Caatinga) is denser than the savanna, and vegetation consists of a fully adapted to high temperatures and scarce water.
I believe that after the meteoritc events, and the large release of dust into the atmosphere, causing a new low in the planet temperature, now associated with the great water in the atmosphere, heavy rain (acid?) fell and rapidly filling the thousands of craters, transforming them into lakes poisoned by gases (CN) which contaminated rocks and soil at these sites.
Yes, it seems rained a lot here on that abrupt climate transition. Large amount of water condensed in this tropical region.
The survivors beasts from the blasts, must have died poisoned on these poisoned (CN) lakes. Still others megafauna eventually were exterminated by the ancient and hungry inhabitants, until the arrival (400 years?) of the new ecological stability.
regards
pierson
Hi Pierson –
My current thinking is that the “nuclear winter” was global in scale. Any acid rain effects would have been minor and secondary.
Immediate starvation was the cause of death, with later predation on the few survivors.
I’ve gone through the Northern sequence many times. I have not worked out what the cold freshwater release would have done to the South Atlantic currents.
The northwestern North American forest fires were likely large enough to leave a nice massive geological signal in local glasses.
Identify pre-Holocene Start Impact phytoliths, compare with post HIS phytoliths, and that should limit the search for these.
Correction: “HSI” for “HIS”
Hello
Ok this or that, no matter the degree of the mix of causes for extinction of the megafauna for each location on the planet. Although overall, it seems reasonable that it was not homogeneous. Of course, the world is not homogeneous. Clusters of comet fragments must have given some aspect heterogeneous at first and even later in many places. And not everything was under the ice in the Pleistocene.
Too bad no academic research has presented nothing new about craters in North America. I still try to understand the lack of interest, which is not unique to Americans, of course. In many cases it seems to me that science (here and elsewhere) is made so romantic, idealized. In many subjects the pure science goes forgotten.
Yes, there are many possible techniques for the investigation. I chose the impactites, which are traditionally accessible to anyone, anywhere. I follow in my little canoe with has only a paddle, and trying to do my best.
regards
pierson
Hi Pierson –
Its not this or that, its global simultaneous starvation. Its not local blast effects, its the stop in food production – a nuclear winter.
That’s why the death dates from recovered mega-fossils show a spike globally.
The lack of work at Ilturalde and Lloydminster is frustrating.
We’ll see what the situation is in February of next year.
Hi George –
There are a whole lot of people who hope I will just shut up.
I am sorry that Higgins’ et al’s crater does not come from the HSI.
We all make mistakes, its what we do next that is important.
Sondra Spies and I have been in Imperial Beach, California, 91932, SW of San Diego, near the beach, 3 miles N of Mexico, since Saturday Dec 3 — renting 254-A Donax Avenue — looking for a $ 300 K small house to buy soon — driving here Dec 1 and 2, via 60 and I-8, seems like plenty of geoablation of the landscape a la Cox-Boslough directed air burst jet barrages — hope to start finding glazed rocks nearby — ocean waves toss up interesting SiO2 rocks, including obsidian, with very few shells…
Another look at the Corossol Crater data:
http://theepistlesofpaul.blogspot.com/2011/04/corossol-structure-sept-iles-harbour.html
It turns out that the HSI date comes from the sediment filling the crater, and that the crater it is older than the HSI.
The sediment itself is of great interest.
Hi George –
You need to add this data:
http://www.palanth.com/legacy/index.php/topic,1202.0.html
as well as the data from Baja California to the list here
[...] In fact, the evidence keeps piling up. [...]