Scientists find signs of 13,000-year-old extinction event

Chicago Tribune ^ | January 2, 2009 | Robert Mitchum

[UCANSEE2]

Thanks for posting the article.

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“The possibility of a comet causing catastrophic climate change and extinction relatively recently in Earth’s long history suggests scientists shouldn’t dismiss the possibility of it happening again, West said.”

One reason the NEAR observatories have been built all over the world.

[neverdem]

Exposing Obama's Genome - And Oprah Winfrey's, Brad Pitts', and yours

Can aircraft trails affect climate?

Diabetes can slow the brain, study finds

FReepmail me if you want on or off my health and science ping list. Happy New Year!

[muawiyah]

This was one of the best science stories of the year. It explained the near extinction of the Clovis culture, the elimination of saber toothed tigers and mastadons, the clogging of the St. Lawrence valley with ice (from the break up of the residual icecap in Canada), the Younger Dryas event, and most of all, why there was gold on top of the hills in Southern Indiana (rather than down in the valleys or deep inside the hillsides like it normally is everywhere else on Earth).

Ain't every day you get one like that!

[Battle Axe]

Sounds plausible to me.

Something has to explain the posies in the stomachs of the mammoths found in the ice.

And the coal found on the East coast of the US. Like a rumpled rug, the surface of the earth folded in upon itself. The surface, covered in vegetation and thick tree trunks, made the veins of coal we mine today.

Flash fire made it charcoal and then it was buried deep.

[randomhero97]

bump for later

[Mr. Mojo]

"When most archeologists heard about it they were somewhat dismissive," Amick said. "We would think, 'How in the world could we have missed this?"

lol...spoken as if they've never missed anything before.

[xcamel]

Basically, that would mean one impact caused it (Ontario Impact), and one ended it (Quebec Air Blast) 2500 years later...

[UCANSEE2]

This was one of the best science stories of the year.

Yes. And a whole lot likelier than global warming from SUV's.

[Mike Darancette]

One reason the NEAR observatories have been built all over the world.

We'll probably get just enough warning for a quick trip to the liquor store.

I think that these events happen more often than we'd like to imagine, last one 1908.

[Coyoteman]

lol...spoken as if they've never missed anything before.

Hey, we do the best we can. This stuff isn't as easy as it looks!

[RobbyS]

If one shows up, I hope Morgan Freeman is president rather than THE ONE.

[HerrBlucher]

So we have Yellowstone, and several other supervolcanoes around the world, Comets, Asteroids, lions tigers and bears oh no, and our prime worry is supposed to be non-existent AGW? LOL!

[RobinOfKingston]

... proof that an exploding comet triggered the sudden, thousand-year freeze that killed off mammoths, saber-toothed tigers and other large mammals that used to live in North America.

Exculpatory evidence that my ancestors were not at fault.

[Mr. Mojo]

This one indeed looks like the "smoking bullet" — nanodiamonds and millions of fossils of the large mammals all found in the 13,000 year strata, and only in that layer. Proof, no. But I'd bet on it.

[ozzymandus]

Only 20 days left to say “Bush’s Fault!”

[Coyoteman]

This one indeed looks like the "smoking bullet" — nanodiamonds and millions of fossils of the large mammals all found in the 13,000 year strata, and only in that layer. Proof, no. But I'd bet on it.

I agree, tt does look good. Archaeologists and other scientists have been wondering what reversed the glacial retreat for decades.

[YOUGOTIT]

Was it brought in by an SUV? Or did it come on its own? Or did the humans do something that did climate change?

[djf]

Yup.

The early explorers/gold miners in Alaska were amazed to find what has been called “muck”.

Hard pack of mud, plant debris, and bones, mashed together and mixed up like it had gone through a cosmic blender.

More and more evidence to support the theory that there was some kind of cataclysmic event, maybe not worldwide, but a large part of it focused on northern North America, that coincided with the beginning of the end of the last ice age.

[org.whodat]

Comet may have exploded over planet, causing fires, die-offs, researchers say

LOL

operative word, "may have"