Meteor shards linked to massive extinction

International Herald Tribune ^ | 21 November 2003 | Kenneth Chang

[balrog666]

Fragments may be 250 million years old

About three dozen microscopic shards of rock unearthed in Antarctica may be the fragments of a meteor that killed most of life on earth 250 million years ago, scientists reported Friday. .

The shards bolster theories that meteors caused several of the mass extinctions in earth's history when large numbers of species died out almost simultaneously. Most scientists agree that the most recent major mass extinction 65 million years ago, which killed off the dinosaurs, was caused when a meteor struck the earth near the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico. .

The extinction 250 million years ago, known as the Permian-Triassic boundary, was the largest extinction of all. More than 90 percent of species living in the oceans and 70 percent of those on land disappeared. .

At present, the primary suspected cause for the Permian-Triassic extinction is giant volcanic eruptions in Siberia, which might have induced catastrophic ecological changes. .

Writing in Friday's issue of the journal Science, the researchers report that they found the meteorite fragments in rocks in Antarctica that date to the Permian-Triassic boundary. The mineral composition of the fragments, each less than one-fiftieth of an inch, or roughly half a millimeter, wide, correspond to that of certain meteorites and is like nothing found naturally on earth, they reported. .

In addition, the scientists said, the same rocks had previously yielded soccer-ball-shaped molecules known as buckyballs containing extraterrestrial gases as well as grains of quartz with fractures that indicate they had been hit with a tremendous shock. .

"Clearly, this evidence points toward a major impact at the Permian-Triassic boundary," said Asish Basu, a professor of earth and environmental sciences at the University of Rochester in New York and lead author of the Science paper. That, he said, is "the most reasonable interpretation." .

The same researchers will report at a American Geological Union meeting next week in San Francisco that they have also found tiny metal spheres they believe were part of the earth's crust and melted by the impact. .

Others are not yet convinced. Eldridge Moores, an emeritus professor of geology at the University of California at Davis, described the meteorite fragments as "the most interesting evidence for a meteorite event at this boundary that I've seen so far." .

But, he added, while the evidence for the dinosaur-killing meteor 65 million years ago is a convincing 10 on a 1-to-10 scale, the evidence for a killer meteor at the Permian-Triassic boundary is not nearly as solid. "I think it's now up to 3 or 4," he said. "It's not 9 or 10." .

Douglas Erwin of the National Museum of Natural History in Washington said, "It's suggestive, but it's hardly compelling." Each piece of evidence offered so far has not by itself been compelling. .

The description of shocked quartz, he said, was tentative, even by the researcher who reported it, and other scientists have failed to reproduce the findings of buckyballs and extraterrestrial gases. If a meteor caused this largest of all extinctions, "I find it remarkable that there's so little evidence," Erwin said. .

If the evidence for an impact does become more compelling, that would raise another geological mystery: whether meteor impacts can set off gigantic volcanic eruptions. Huge eruptions in India coincided with the Yucatán meteor impact 65 million years ago. .

To date, most geologists have argued that meteors are not powerful enough to crack the earth's crust. Basu, who is strongly convinced that a meteor struck the Earth 250 million years ago, believes coincidence is not likely. "There has to be a connection," he said.

[Orion78]

Here is one more for the road. As much fun as I'm having argueing whether or not the sky is blue, I'm going to close this conversation down for the night. I have some things I have to take care of.

If rocks dont fall from the sky, then what the heck was the nine pound sulphide object that tore through a roof and hit this woman as she slept on her couch?

Paper: Bridgeport Telegram
City: Bridgeport, Connecticut
Date: Wednesday, December 01, 1954

Meteorite Tears Hole In Roof Of Alabama House, Woman Hurt

SYLACAUGA, Ala., Dec. 1 - (AP) A celestial disturbance seen in three states was identified yesterday as an exploding meteor which sent a nine-pound fragment crashing through a roof here and injured a 32-year-old woman.

Mrs. Hewlett Hodges received bruises when the meteorite tore a hole three feet wide in the roof over her living room, smashed a radio and struck her on an arm and hip.

The object was identified as a sulphide meteorite by George Swindle, field representative of the U. S. Geological Survey.

A "bright flash" across the sky followed by explosions was reported about 2 p.m. simultaneously in Atlanta, Newnan and Columbus, Ga., Sylacauga and Birmingham in Alabama, and as far away as Greenville, Miss.

Dr. Walter B. Jones, Alabama state geologist, said that evidently a meteor exploded over central Alabama and that Mrs. Hodges was hurt by a particle of it.

Swindle said the meteorite measured about six inches in diameter, and weighed approximately nine pounds.

Source

[VadeRetro]

An obvious assassination attempt! She knew too much.

[PatrickHenry]

Looks to me like a fat lady with a nasty birthmark. Obviously some kind of scheme to get her homeowner's policy to pay for the cosmetic surgery.

[No Blue States]

Well at least youve kept your sense of humor! Funny thread.

I believe in both Meteors making craters in the earth and God. There are many things that wont be fully understood in this life, its a facinating creation.

[No Blue States]

That had to hurt.
Ive always wondered how bill clinton got here, now i know.

[Calvin Locke]

I recall an Art Bell show a few years back. (In between retirements)

Some astrophysicist was on, and SETI came up. He didn't think SETI had much of chance, but it was a worthy effort.

His opinion was that SETI was looking in all the wrong spaces - dense areas of the cosmos that probably had high potential
for cosmic collisions of one sort or another, sending whatever possible life, way back beyond the stone
age, so to speak.

[Calvin Locke]

volcanoes are not mentioned in the Bible

The effects of volcanoes are mentioned. I believe Sodom and Gomorrah are thought to have perished due to a combination
of volcanic and accompanying earthquake activity.

[Barnacle]

Oh, you're just a craterist that's all.

But don't feel too bad. I've had gone a good bit into my live before discovering my latent crateristuality. I was initially shocked at the revelation, wondering what my family and friends would think if they ever found out the truth. But, soon I accepted it and now I’ve even come embrace it. I find myself longing for the company of other careerists. In my journey, it was clear that other creterist were struggling with the same feelings of guilt and rejection. That’s what led me to search for a special crater where creterist could live in peace and harmony, free from the rigid conformities of the world.

[U S Army EOD]

Check out post 57, he is just trying to confuse us.

[Orion78]

Sigh... I guess I better go sign up for a C.A. meeting.

[PatrickHenry]

P L A C E M A R K E R

[bondserv]

All these catastrophes put a rather large dent in the truth of the theory of Evolution. Punk-EEk is a requirement.

The limitations continue to remove the logic undergirding Darwin's little mess of a theory.

Link

[carpio]

BTTT

[SunkenCiv]

It's an oldie, and was already in the GGG catalog, but never got a ping, as it was from the pre-ping era. ;') Today I discovered (or finally noticed) a whole period of microhistory of the GGG ping list. :')

Please FREEPMAIL me if you want on, off, or alter the "Gods, Graves, Glyphs" PING list --
Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.
The GGG Digest -- Gods, Graves, Glyphs (alpha order)