Fungi, Feces Show Comet Didn't Kill Ice Age Mammals?

National Geographic ^ | 22 June 2010 | John Roach

[Palter]

Tiny balls of fungus and feces may disprove the theory that a huge space rock exploded over North America about 12,900 years ago, triggering a thousand-year cold snap, according to a new study.

The ancient temperature drop, called the Younger Dryas, has been well documented in the geologic record, including soil and ice core samples.

The cool-down also coincides with the extinction of mammoths and other Ice Age mammals in North America, and it's thought to have spurred our hunter-gatherer ancestors in the Middle East to adopt an agricultural lifestyle.

But the theory that a comet or asteroid explosion is behind the cooling event is wrong, according to study leader Andrew C. Scott, a paleobotanist at Royal Holloway University in London.

For years proponents of the impact theory have cited tiny spherules of carbon found in a layer of charred sediment throughout North America that dates to the Younger Dryas period.

According to the theory, these spherules are organic matter subjected to intense heat after debris from an exploded meteor rained down on Earth, sparking massive wildfires.

The new research, however, detected carbon spherules in soil layers from before, during, and after the Younger Dryas, making it hard to argue that the particles are products of a sudden impact.

What's more, Scott's team found that most of the spherules are similar to tightly packed balls of fungus found in modern soils that have been exposed to low to moderate heat during wildfires. Plant and soil fungi are known to create these balls of material to help them survive extreme conditions.

Other elongated forms of the spherules match modern fecal pellets from insects.

"All these particles are of natural biological origin and are not related to either intense wildfires or cosmic impacts," Scott said in an email.

"The press and public are very interested in catastrophic explanations," he added. "But it is important that when evidence stacks up to show the theory does not work, then it should be abandoned."

What About the Nanodiamonds?

In fact, most experts acknowledge that carbon spherules are found throughout the geological record, including biological forms associated with wildfires, said James Kennett, an emeritus geologist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, who supports the cosmic-impact hypothesis.

However, the spherules are not often found in large quantities, he said, and there is "a peak in carbon spherules at the Younger Dryas boundary."

What's more, those spherules are found alongside microscopic diamonds, or nanodiamonds, which often form under the conditions caused by extraterrestrial impacts.

The new study does not report evidence of nanodiamonds, Kennett noted, which is expected, since the team wasn't directly looking for them.

"So their [reported] data is consistent," Kennett said.

Study leader Scott said that his team has studied the nanodiamond issue, but he's not yet able to discuss the results.

He did, however, hint that the particles might not be nanodiamonds at all: Fungal spores the team examined have similar microscopic features.

And, Scott said, "obviously [spores] are not nanodiamonds."

The carbon spherule study has been accepted for publication in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

[Palter]

Shrug.

[Artemis Webb]

"The new research, however, detected carbon spherules in soil layers from before, during, and after the Younger Dryas, making it hard to argue that the particles are products of a sudden impact."

There is a reason hardly anybody reads National Geographic anymore. They have developed a skill for taking an interesting subject and making it dry as hell.

[a fool in paradise]

Tiny balls of fungus and feces may disprove the theory that a huge space rock exploded over North America about 12,900 years ago, triggering a thousand-year cold snap, according to a new study.

The quest for the ancient 'shrooms.

[egannacht]

Seems the weight of evidence is tilted toward a series of catastrophic extraterrestrial and terrestrial events, including a layer of iridium mixed with ash, et cetera that are concurrent to the Younger Dryas. Science is a long process of work not a short article in National “there is global warming because we wrote a few articles that say so—trust us you are idiots” Geographic.

[Kenny Bunk]

They have developed a skill for taking an interesting subject and making it dry as hell.

Not to mention becoming part of the Loony Left.

[SunkenCiv]

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	Gods Graves Glyphs	Thanks Palter for the ping, and for the shrug. ;') To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother, and Ernest_at_the_Beach
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[SunkenCiv]

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The Cycle of Cosmic Catastrophes: Flood, Fire, and Famine in the History of Civilization by Richard Firestone, Allen West, and Simon Warwick-Smith

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additional topics from the archives:

• What killed the mammoths and other behemoths?
• Ancient Atomic Warfare - Religious texts and geological evidence
• Supernova debris found on Earth
• Deep freeze dealt death knell to bison (Ice Age)
• Supernova Storm Wiped Out Mammoths?
• Supernova Storm Wiped Out Mammoths?
• Scientist: Comets Blasted Early Americans
• Native Americans Recorded Supernova Explosion
• Terrestrial Evidence of a Nuclear Catastrophe in Paleoindian Times
• Did comet start deadly cold snap?
• Diamonds tell tale of comet that killed off the cavemen
• Catastrophic Comet Chilled and Killed Ice Age Beasts (and Clovis people)
• Oregon Researchers Involved In New Clovis-Age Impact Theory (More)
• Comet May Have Doomed Mammoths
• Ice Age Ends Smashingly: Did A Comet Blow Up Over Eastern Canada? (More) (Carolina Bays)
• Climate alarmists lose another piece of evidence
• Comet Theory Collides With Clovis Research, May Explain Disappearance of Ancient People
• NSF Press Release: Comet May Have Exploded Over North America 13,000 Years Ago
• Research Team Says Extraterrestrial Impact To Blame For Ice Age Extinctions (More)
• Cosmic blast may have killed off megafauna: Scientists say early humans doomed, too
• Cosmic blast may have killed off megafauna: Scientists say early humans doomed, too
• Evidence for an extraterrestrial impact 12,900 years ago
• Site Provides Evidence For Ancient Comet Explosion (Topper - SC)
• The End of Eden: The Comet That Changed Civilization
• Great beasts peppered from space
• Did Comets Cause Ancient American Extinctions?
• Al Goodyear And The Secrets Of Ancient Americans
• The mysterious forest rings of northern Ontario
• Life Survived Catastrophic Space Rock Impact [Chesapeake Bay area]
• Research Casts New Light On History Of North America
• Exploding Asteroid Theory Strengthened By New Evidence Located In Ohio, Indiana
• First Humans To Settle Americas Came From Europe, Not From Asia....
• Diamonds Rained Down During Ice Age
• Diamonds Rained Down During Ice Age ($$$)
• First Humans To Settle Americas Came From Europe, Not From Asia Over Bering Strait -
• Tracking down abrupt climate changes (Rapid natural climate change 12,700 years ago)
• Mammoth Mystery: The Beasts' Final Years
• Scientists find signs of 13,000-year-old extinction event
• Scientists say comet killed off mammoths, saber-toothed tigers
• Diamonds Linked to Quick Cooling Eons Ago
• Six North American sites hold 12,900-year-old nanodiamond-rich soil
• Did a Comet Hit Earth 12,000 Years Ago?
• Mammoths wiped out by 'perfect storm?'
• Laser mapping may help solve the mystery of the Mima Mounds
• Humans to Blame for Extinction? - Not Necessarily So ...
• Did a Comet Cause a North American Die-Off around 13,000 Years Ago?
• Carolina bays gouged into the ground at a magnetic reversal
• North America comet theory questioned
• Mini ice age took hold of Europe in months
• Car-Sized Creature Whacked with Tail's Sweet Spot (until 10,000 years ago)
• Starvation 'wiped out' giant deer
• Prehistoric man, giant animal coexisted
• Extinction of Giant Mammals Changed Landscape Dramatically
• Sophisticated hunters not to blame for driving mammoths to extinction
• Big freeze plunged Europe into ice age in months
• Kansas scientists probe mysterious possible comet strikes on Earth
• Explosive Nearby Star Could Threaten Earth
• T Pyxidis Soon To Be A Type Ia Supernova
• The Death Star (Supernova close to Earth - could wipe us out)
• Cave reveals Southwest's abrupt climate swings during Ice Age
• Musk Ox Population Decline Due to Climate, Not Humans, Study Finds
• Hour-long hailstorm may have caused 1,000-year freeze, say scientists
• Comet trail may have caused last ice age - UPI.com
• New Study Reveals Link Between 'Climate Footprints' and Mass Mammal Extinction
• As Mammoths Died Out, Earth Chilled (mammoth burp and fart levels dropped, contributing to cooling)
• Methane Extinctions - Could this Explain the Carolina Bays?

[La Lydia]

Might have gone with a different headline.....:)

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Palter for the ping, and for the shrug. ;')

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[Condor51]

Nanodiamonds are a nanogirl’s best friend.

[wendy1946]

That’s right. The causes of the recent extinctions were substantially more major than a comet impact.

[SunkenCiv]

Yeah really! ;’) :’D

And for that matter, “Spray Paint, Anteaters, Show Marlon Brando Didn’t Work in a Car Wash”.

[uglybiker]

Not to mention being the best materieal for nanoneedles so I can play my nanovinyl.

[bigheadfred]

Might have gone with a different headline

I thought that was U gathering Liberty Caps

[Grimmy]

I thought Comet was supposed to clean up stuff like fungus and feces?

[SunkenCiv]

Well, it makes your teeth turn green, and tastes like gasoline, AND it makes you vomit, so...

[SunkenCiv]

LOL!

[SunkenCiv]

Looks like Amazon changed its standards links again.

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The Cycle of Cosmic Catastrophes: Flood, Fire, and Famine in the History of Civilization by Richard Firestone, Allen West, and Simon Warwick-Smith

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