Clovis Comet & North American Mass Extinction

[John L]

Surprising enough, nobody has brought up the latest theory for the mass extinction of mega-fauna in North America at the end of the last ice age, and the cause for the Younger Dryas. What I am talking about is the latest evidence leading to the theory, which is still theory, that a comet Impactor exploded in the upper atmosphere, causing the end of Clovis culture, and a large portion of fauna on the North American Continent.

 

In order to stimulate discussion on this interesting topic, I will post what I have recently written at Ai-Jane.org. I know that we all have our own idea as to what is vitally important to this planet and humans, but the thought of millions, even billions, of humans dying off immediately as a result of a large comet, or asteroid, leaves me very unsettled. In fact, this dwarfs the 'so called' threat of a warming planet, so much so that to be worried about the later, at the expense of the former, seems to be intellectual laziness 'par excellence'

--------------------------------------------------------

 

For many years now, the mystery of the vanishing fauna in post Pleistocene North America, has stumped paleontologists. How did so many species suddenly disappear. And this ranges from the giant bison, ground sloth, dire bear, smilidon, North American horse, mammoth, and many others.

 

Theories have ranged from viruses to human interaction, to haitat change. Yet none of them have really been carried the day, as all have been a real stretch of imagination. As a graduate student I have always believed that there had to be something other than invading humans responsible, because the diversity of extinctions and their suddenness just did not add up.

 

Now there is a new theory out, and it does not rely upon any of the above causes. This one is celestial in nature, and is currently under close scrutiny. It's also a new theory, having just been raised in 2007, so it will be disputed for years to come. But it makes sense, just as mass extinctions in the past, have almost all been the result of celestial Impactors as well.

 

As an anthropologist, I find this spellbinding, because the implications are Huge. The prospect of random Impactors, capable of causing such disruption, adds to the threat of cyclical Inpactors which can cause even more damage and extinction rates. In other words, the longer we continue to keep all of our eggs in one single basket, the greater the odds that we too will be made extinct by some Impactor in the future.

 

New Clovis-Age Comet Impact Theory

 

Newswise — Two University of Oregon researchers are on a multi-institutional 26-member team proposing a startling new theory: that an extraterrestrial impact, possibly a comet, set off a 1,000-year-long cold spell and wiped out or fragmented the prehistoric Clovis culture and a variety of animal genera across North America almost 13,000 years ago.

 

Driving the theory is a carbon-rich layer of soil that has been found, but not definitively explained, at some 50 Clovis-age sites in North America that date to the onset of a cooling period known as the Younger Dryas Event. The sites include several on the Channel Islands off California where UO archaeologists Douglas J. Kennett and Jon M. Erlandson have conducted research.

 

 

For a more detailed and close examination of the theory, you can read more here: THE CLOVIS COMET Part I: Evidence for a Cosmic Collision 12,900 Years Ago

 

About Comets vs Asteroids

 

The thing that leaves me scratching my head is the frequency with which commentators, and even scientists use "asteroids" and "comets" so interchangably. There is a big difference, and an impact by one will not be akin to that of another.

 

Usually, the 'so called' experts will tell everyone that the dinosaurs were killed off 65 million years ago, by a huge asteroid. But the odds of that are very small, and a comet is a 90% certainty. Comets streak around the solar system at two to three times the velocity of asteroids. This means that the kenetic energy of a comet is far greater, and the time from atmosphere to impact will be much less, even coming in at a 30 degree angle, which is what the dinosaur killer most likely entered the atmosphere.

 

Also, comets are almost always much bigger than asteroids. Some of them are simply Huge, and if they were to Impact the earth, they would do far more damage than the 6 mile comet that struck 65 million years ago.

 

But the theory here of an air burst leads me to think that this may have been an asteroid, or a very loose, and small comet. It's hard to tell, but I have not read about any evidence of iridium as of yet. Comets will give off more iridium debris, so we shall have to wait and see what the debris layer shows on this.

 

But I am fairly certain that an Impactor is the reason for the mass extinction of certain fauna in North America . As a matter of fact, it is starting to look like ALL mass extinctions are the result of celestial intervention. This is why I am amazed with the Eco-Wackos's hysteria about something as benign as global warming, and totally oblivious to the REAL DANGER, which lies out in the Ort Cloud and Kuiper Belt. All it takes is for one of these Impactors to give us a personal visit, and we are Truely Screwed, Blued, and tatooed.

 

Here are a couple more schollarly publications on the topic.

 

Evidence for an extraterrestrial impact 12,900 years ago that contributed to the megafaunal extinctions and the Younger Dryas cooling

 

Younger Dryas "black mats" and the Rancholabrean termination in North America, by C. Vance Haynes, Jr*

[JohnB]

Hi John.

 

I've heard of the theory before re the Younger Dryas. The only real problem I have with it is the time period involved. An impact event could certainly bring on some sort of "Nuclear Winter" but it's effect should be relatively short lived.

 

Put enough crud in the atmosphere and you can suddenly cool the planet, but most will wash out within a decade and things go back to normal. This is not true for the YD. The YD lasted around 1,000 years and had a very ubrupt beginning and end.

 

If you look at this graph from Richard B. Alley concerning the Greenland cores you will see what I mean. While the sudden onset of the YD is perhaps consistent with the impact theory, the long duration and sudden ending is not. (AFAIK, I'm quite willing to be proved wrong on this point though.)

 

I would think that the signature of an ET event would be a sudden drop in temperature followed by a gradual rise back to normal over a historically short period. (20-50 years at the most.) I wouldn't expect a sudden drop, 1,000 years of low temps, and a final sudden rise.

 

So the theory explains the entrance to the YD, but not it's length or exit, so it needs work. Other factors must be involved.