Did a Massive Extraterrestrial Body Impact Earth 12,000 Years Ago?

 

                     

 

New research results are consistent with a controversial theory that an extraterrestrial body – such as a comet – impacted the Earth approximately 12,900 years ago, possibly contributing to the significant climatic and ecological changes that date to that time period. The paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) includes significant findings about the nature of so-called "microspherules" that were found at a number of prehistoric sites, based on research done at North Carolina State.

While the findings are interesting in themselves, the paper is only the latest in a heated scholarly debate focused on whether such an "impact event" took place. The debate dates back to a 2007 paper, in which researchers reported finding evidence at multiple sites of a significant impact event. The evidence cited in that paper included a large increase in the abundance of magnetic microspherules at the study sites. The microspherules are metallic spheres in the range of 10 to 50 micrometers. For comparison, human hair is 50 to 100 micrometers in diameter.

Specifically, the 2007 team found hundreds to thousands of these microspherules in each kilogram of dirt they sampled at the Younger Dryas Boundary (YDB) layer from several sites. The YDB marks the period when the Earth's climate reverted to conditions similar to the ice age and populations of prehistoric animals, such as mammoths, appear to have dropped off precipitously. It also marks the period when the Clovis culture in North America seems to have experienced a significant population decline or some significant cultural modification.

Samples were also taken from layers above and below the YDB. Microspherules were found in much greater numbers in the dirt samples taken from the YDB, as compared to the samples from the other layers. These microspherules have a variety of natural and artificial sources, including impact events, volcanoes and industrial pollution. Most types of microspherules are easily distinguished from one another.

However, in 2009, another team of researchers published a paper calling the 2007 findings into question. The researchers had examined two of the sites cited in the 2007 paper – the Blackwater Draw site in New Mexico and the Topper site in South Carolina, as well as 5 others – and reported that its researchers were unable to find increased numbers of the relevant microspherules in the YDB at all but one site – and even that site was questionable.

Now the new PNAS paper finds that the 2009 study relied on flawed protocols. Perhaps more importantly, the researchers behind the new study have re-examined the Blackwater Draw and Topper sites – as well as a third site in Maryland common to the 2009 study– and were able to find microspherules in amounts consistent with the 2007 hypothesis at each site.

"Our study replicates only a small subset of the research reported in 2007 and within those narrow limits, our results are consistent with theirs. Much research remains to be done to prove or disprove the hypothesis," says Dr. Malcolm LeCompte of Elizabeth City State University, who is lead author of the new PNAS paper.

LeCompte brought some of these microspherules to the Analytical Instrumentation Facility (AIF) at NC State, which provides both analytical instrumentation and expert staff to help researchers analyze and characterize materials and material structures at the micro and nanoscale.

"They wanted to know what's in these spherules and where they came from," says Charles Mooney, the scanning electron microscope (SEM) lab manager at AIF. "We analyzed the microspherules with an SEM, which allowed us to obtain high-resolution images of the microspherules. We also collected x-rays generated by electron beam-sample interactions to tell us what elements were in each sample," Mooney explains. "This told us that the microspherules were largely made up of iron, aluminum, silicon, and occasionally titanium, with one spherule containing significant amounts of rare earths, such as cerium."

Dr. Dale Batchelor, director of operations at AIF, also sliced open some of the microspherules using an analytical instrument composed of a both a focused ion beam (FIB) and an SEM to examine their interior structure and composition. Interestingly, some of the microspherules were partially hollow, but exhibited internal crystal structures when cross sectioned with the FIB.

"To our knowledge this is the first instance of the FIB technique being used to cross section YBD microspherules – in effect exploratory surgery on the microscale," Batchelor says. "The FIB is the scalpel and the SEM is the eye."

Most of the microspherules were made up of elements in proportions similar to the composition of the Earth's crust and not, as some had proposed, meteorite material. In addition, the surface characteristics of the microspherules indicate that they were heated to a molten temperature and then cooled rapidly. "This is consistent with the theory of an impact event, but falls short of proof positive," says LeCompte.

More information: doi: 10.1073/pnas.1208603109 Journal reference: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

 

          

The Daily Galaxy via North Carolina State University

Image credit University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB)

Comments

[katesisco]

i thought about the claims for many impact sites and the missing evidence to back them up. It seems to me that a body impact should not be ambiguous. Bodies leave evidence period.

So, consider that our entire system experiences compression, said compression heating body cores and holding due to pressure until compressive release.

What would happen then? The heated gases and metals would release catastrophically in a 'blow out.' This blow out would saturate the surface with ionized gases. These ionized gases in turn would be the ideal attractor for ionized bodies in space. They would exchange violent and uncontrolled energy blasts with the E's ionized surface.

This seems to me to fit our inexplicable history best. How to explain our lack of progress under the Neanderthals? The compression and Earth passing to the back of the energy wave pushing the compression. In the back of the wave E would experience a liberating zero gravity and expansion allowing hot Earth to cool through cracks now incorrectly called plate tectonics. And cosmic rays would reach E unimpeded.

How to explain our sudden success in intelligence 50,000 y ago? We were inside the tip of the energy wave, the Majorana transforms. This mix of anti grav and gravity allowed life to survive and heat to escape.

Our smarter us developed inside a pockets of antigrav. They did not leave us history but the rest of us did. Hence we have civilization and written records.

How to explain the disappearance of the smarter us? The Majorana transform failed to reach Earth around 15,000 bc and the smarter us had to manage without access to anti grav, and they had to make their way in the world with the wee beasties, us. Does this not make sense in light of what we know from written history? Nuclear was/is just silliness. The workings of the solar system/universe is what is happing here.

NASA says the Centarui system novaed 10 my ago. It makes sense that the LT (light terminus) starbit we know as Proxima Centauri is responsible for the energy compressing the heliosphere, and heating through shedding neutrinos/electron hole pairs as it briefly pierces the Oort cloud before exiting. And it is responsible for the noted decrease of energy allowing the Earth to remain in the much compressed heliosphere until the compression lifts, preserving life.

Why is C on Mars? Looking for signs of gases released during the lifting of the compressive energy due at the end of the year, 3 months from now. The tip of this energy, the Majorana transform I believe to be outside Mars so Mars is sitting at the edge of the transform compressed waiting for the compression to be lifted.

Is there evidence of this compression being lifted? I think Venus glowing in the sky as seen from E and developed into a cometary Venus theory by Velikovsky is such evidence. Here on E these various site that are not quite meteoric in remains fit as gas releases from Earth.

[Ema Zee]

RE: comment posted by katesisco on September 30, 2012 at 01:24 PM

{FACEPALM}

arg

[Coyote]

The article is pretty good. The comment by katesisco, not so good.

[Stuart]

"Most of the microspherules were made up of elements in proportions similar to the composition of the Earth's crust and not, as some had proposed, meteorite material. In addition, the surface characteristics of the microspherules indicate that they were heated to a molten temperature and then cooled rapidly. "This is consistent with the theory of an impact event, but falls short of proof positive," says LeCompte."

-_-

[Andre Chaisson]

I found the impact area over 3 years ago. I tried to go public but my cinematography skill are somewhat lacking, as are my credentials. However every time a post regarding this 'impact' is asserted, I once again go on the offensive, trying to gain notoriety for my theories.
You can check out my video here if you are curious. The more people that see it, the better my claim will be at being the discoverer of the craters, yes there are 2 of them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWYGy8TIinI&feature=plcp

[koram.leena]

And loose a majority of the random readership? It heads into the same territory as why TV news is overloaded with reports about negative events. Because for some reason we humans find comfort in hearing about others misery. Or how if loss is emphasized we will not do something even tho the actual chance is minimal to say the least.

seo miami

[sodak.lazmi]

If you want to lecture about the scientific method, you should remember that this issue of PNAS had a pre-arranged editor. Publishing in sources with pre-arranged editors and short-circuiting the peer-review process sort of removes this from the direct line of "scientific method."

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[Graham]

I'm quite happy to accept the idea that the earth was impacted by a massive extraterrestrial body 12000 years ago, but rather less impressed with the idea that we have been visited by aliens in the distant past.

[Bala]

This finding adds support to the claim of south indian Tamils, existence of Kumarai kandam around 10000BC, A ancient civilized culture of Dravidian. D

[Lee]

I Am more than suspicious that this story is a ploy to falsely explain the warmer than present temperatures marking the end of the last ice age and will precedent a future bogus theory about the medieval warm period as well. I'm not saying it is not possible but meteor impacts on earth with the potential to change global climate generally mark extinction events and not immediate bursts in biodiversity. The woolly mammoth had a more likely fate and that was it was specialized for ice age conditions and ceased to exist in a warmer climate because it could not adapt in a cyclically changing galactic environment. There is a lot of effort and money being used on every front to support man made global warming and theories with no evidence given by peer review scientists should be very suspicious indeed.

[Ann Kittenplan]

That first post is something to behold.

[Who is here?]

@ katesico

I think I see the light at the end of the tunnel. Thank you, good sir.

[Yokohama Michael]

Katesisco,

I don't know what you are on but I want some of it.

[Randy]

Maybe it hit the lost city of Atlantis!?

[cacarr]

Kate, you need to take your Haldol.

[Chad]

Evidence is evidence. If multiple groups of scientists find the same thing, they are on to something real. It was mentioned in the article that this whole line of research is just beginning and that more evidence is needed to prove or disprove any theories.
Exciting evidence, nonetheless.

[john]

Ann....understatement of the year.

[Doc]

view and download my public domain extraterrestrial art at the all free http://www.ufophenom.com/