Including Original "Paul H. Letters" Copyright © 1996-2024 Paul V. Heinrich / website © 1996-2024 Dirk Ross - All rights reserved.



Sunday 22 November 2009

Publications related to Upheaval Dome

Publications Related to Upheaval Dome (was posted as No Subject]

oxytropidoceras at cox.net oxytropidoceras at cox.net
Sun Nov 22 10:44:38 EST 2009

The current issue, September 2009, issue of
Utah Geological Survey has a short popular article
about the Upheaval Dome in it: It is:

Case, William, 2009, Geosights, Utah's Belly Button,
Upheaval Dome. Utah Geological Survey Notes.
vol. 41, no. 3, p. 11.

PDF file of September 2009 issue at:
http://geology.utah.gov/surveynotes/snt41-3.pdf
and linked at http://geology.utah.gov/surveynotes/

An earlier issues, September 2008, of the Utah
Geological Survey Notes has an article about
exhumed paleochannels in the Morrison and Cedar
Mountain formations that are terrestrial analogues
of exhumed paleochannels seen on satellite images of
Mars. The article discussing these paleochannels is:

Chidsey, T. C., R. M. E. Williams, and D. E. Eby, 2008,
Ancient Exhumed River Channels of the Morrison and
Cedar Mountain Formations—Analogs for Eastern
Utah Oil and Gas Fields and Features on Mars Too!
Utah Geological Survey Notes. Vol. 40, no. 3, PP. 1-4.

PDF file of September 2008 issue at:
http://geology.utah.gov/surveynotes/snt40-3.pdf
and linked at http://geology.utah.gov/surveynotes/#recent

A related PDF file is:

Okubo, C. H., and R. A. Schultz, 2007, Compactional
deformation bands in Wingate Sandstone; Additional
evidence of an impact origin for Upheaval Dome, Utah.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters. vol. 256, pp. 169-181,
doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2007.01.024.
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~chriso/pubs/okubo.schultz.2007.pdf
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~chriso/publications.html

A related PDF file is:

Williams, R. E. M., T. C. Chidsey, Jr., and D. E. Eby, 2007,
Exhumed Paleochannels in Central Utah–Analogs for
Raised Curvilinear Features on Mars. in G. C. Willis,
M. D. Hylland, D. L. Clark, and T. C. Chidsey, eds., Central
Utah–Diverse Geology of a Dynamic Landscape. Utah
Geological Association Publication no. 26. Salt Lake
City, Utah.
http://www.psi.edu/reports/2007/williamspics/Williams07_UGA36.pdf

More recently there is:

Burr, D. M., M.-T. Enga, R. M. E. Williams, J. R. Zimbelman,
A. D. Howard, and T. A. Brennand, 2009, Pervasive aqueous
paleoflow features in the Aeolis/Zephyria Plana region, Mars.
Icarus, vol. 200, pp. 52–76
http://www.sfu.ca/paleoglaciology/pubs_files/Burretal_09_SinuousRidges_Mars_Icarus.pdf

Newsom, H. E., N. L. Lanzaa, A. M. Ollilaa, S. M. Wisemanb,
Ted L. Roushc, G. A. Marzod, L. L. Tornabenee, C. H. Okubof,
M. M. Osterloog, V. V. E. Hamiltonh and L. S. Crumpleri, in
press, Inverted channel deposits on the floor of Miyamoto
crater, Mars. Icarus. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2009.03.030
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2009.03.030

Pain, C. F., J. D. A. Clarke, and M. Thomas, 2007, Inversion
of Relief as a Geomorphic Process on Mars and its
Relevance to Landing Site Selection. in Two Planets -
One Future. Mars Society Australia, Inc.
http://www.marssociety.org.au/amec2007/proceedings/AMEC2007_Pain_etal.PDF
http://www.marssociety.org.au/amec2007/proceedings/TOC.php

1. Featured images for May 2008: Inverted Paleochannels
on Earth and Mars.
http://www.psi.edu/pgwg/images/may08image.html

2. Rebecca M.E. Williams 2008 Annual Research Report
http://www.psi.edu/reports/2008/williams08.html

The Utah inverted paleochannels can be seen readily on
Google Earth. The coordinates for one prominent set of
them is:

38°52'32.42"N, 110°16'15.38"W

Yours,

Paul h.

Saturday 21 November 2009

Pleistocene Megafaunal Collapse, Dung Fungus, and Younger Dryas

Pleistocene Megafaunal Collapse, Dung Fungus, and Younger Dryas

oxytropidoceras at cox.net oxytropidoceras at cox.net
Sat Nov 21 08:27:07 EST 2009

New Data Shed Light on Large-Animal Extinction, New
York Times by Nicholas Wade, November 19, 2009‎
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/24/science/24fauna.html

After Mastodons and Mammoths, a Transformed Landscape
Science Daily, ‎November 19, 2009,
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119141029.htm

Dung dating illuminates mammoth mystery, Nature.com
http://blogs.nature.com/news/thegreatbeyond/2009/11/dung_dating_illuminates_mammot.html

mystery of the mastodons gets a few big clues, Christian
Science Monitor, November 19, 2009‎
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/1120/p02s13-usgn.html

Dung helps reveal why mammoths died out BBC News
by Victoria Gill, November 19, 2009‎
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8368485.stm

The paper discussed in the above articles is:

Gill, J. l., J. W. Williams, S. T. Jackson, K. B. Lininger, and G. S. Robinson,
2009, Pleistocene Megafaunal Collapse, Novel Plant Communities, and
Enhanced Fire Regimes in North America. Science. vol. 326, no. 5956,
pp. 1100 - 1103. DOI: 10.1126/science.1179504

http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/326/5956/1100

Yours,

Paul H.

The Kinetics of Mass Extinction and Origination

The Kinetics of Mass Extinction and Origination

oxytropidoceras at cox.net oxytropidoceras at cox.net
Sat Nov 21 08:03:48 EST 2009

Paleontologists find extinction rates higher in open-ocean settings
during mass extinctions. Science Daily, November 20, 2009
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119194128.htm

Other web pages:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uoc-pfe111909.php
http://www.scienceblog.com/cms/paleontologists-find-extinction-rates-higher-open-ocean-settings-during-mass-extinctions-27417.html

The paper is:

Miller, A. I. and M. Foote, 2009, Epicontinental Seas Versus Open-Ocean
Settings: The Kinetics of Mass Extinction and Origination. Science.
vol. 326, no. 5956, pp. 1106 - 1109. DOI: 10.1126/science.1180061
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/326/5956/1106

Yours,

Paul H.

Sunday 15 November 2009

Observations on Age of Carolina Bays

Observations on Age of Carolina Bays

oxytropidoceras at cox.net oxytropidoceras at cox.net
Sun Nov 15 14:46:30 EST 2009

As I will discuss in a paper that I am preparing, Carolina Bays
are not at all difficult to date in terms of their age relative to the
Younger Dryas as documented in a number of published, peer-
reviewed papers and specific Cultural Resource Management
reports. There is a huge amount of information available about
either the age or relative age of the Carolina Bays to be found
by carefully and persistently digging through the large number
of publications about them and the geomorphology of the
Atlantic coastal plain.

1. Radiocarbon dates, which are all minimum dates indicating
when ground water conditions allowed the preservation of
organic material within them. All the basal dates tells a person
is the last time that a bay was permanently filled with water
because of rising groundwater table, which is greatly influenced
by rises and falls in eustatic sea level. Despite the fact that the
radiocarbon dates are only minimum dates, they clearly
demonstrate that the Carolina Bays predate the Younger Dryas
event.

2. optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating is now
a well established and proven dating method, which gives
credible dates for the age of these landforms. A person might
argued for mxing of older and younger sand, except that
Dr. Ivester, whom I personally discussed this matter with
on the GSA 2008 Meeting sand mantle, biomantle, mima
mound field trip told me that he did not find the anomalies
in the raw data for his dates that such mixing would create.
Also, a person can always use single-grain OSL dating to
unequivocally test for such mixing. Given that Dr. Ivester is
a very experienced Quaternary geologist, the claim he dated
the wrong material, in my opinion is the type of lame excuse
that I hear from Young Earth creationists when the data
refutes what they want to believe is the truth. If a person is
going to make this claim, they need to back it up with hard
and well-documented facts for it to be credible in any
manner at all.

3. the pollen records from several Carolina Bays clearly
go back to the last Glacial Maximum and in one bay,
back to Oxygen Isotope Stage 5a. In many more Carolina
Bays, the paleoenvironmental records start during full
glacial conditions, several thousands of years before the
hypothesized Younger Dryas event. Common sense and
basic stratigraphic principles dictate that the Carolina Bays
containing these records existed before any hypothesized
Younger Dryas events as it is physically impossible for
any sort of exterrestrial event / impact to create craters
thousands of years before it occurs. It is impossible for
mixing of sediment to have produced these records as
the paleoenvironmental records recovered from Carolina
Bays correlate precisely in time and nature to palynological
records from non-Carolina Bay lakes and swamps in the
same area as a Carolina Bay.

4. Cross-cutting relationships between well dated fluvial
terraces (lacking Carolina Bays) cut and inset into older
terraces and the Carolina Bays they exhibit establish the
minimum age of Carolina Bays. Similarly the superposition
dunes fields, which formed during the Late Glacial
Maximum and lacking Carolina Bays, upon Carolina
Bays that they partial bury, establish the preYounger
Dryas age of the Carolina Bays. Both cross-cutting
relationships and superposition is documented in great
detail by LIDAR DEMs available for large parts of the
Atlantic Coast.

5. Stratified archaeological sites demonstrates how
Carolina Bays have been modified after the Younger
Dryas. Carolina Bays on restricted government
reservations indicate how historic agriculture and
urban development have modified Carolina Bays
during the last few decades by comparison.

6. All the presence of hypothesized impactites filling
the Carolina Bays indicates is that preexisting Carolina
Bays was filled by material from this hypothesized impact.
The presence of hypothetical impactites within the loose
soils of coastal plain sands forming the rim of Carolina
Bays indicate is that bioturbation mixed material falling
on the surface of into the loose sand forming the rims.
The churning of surface materials deep into thick sandy
epipedons is a well documented and well known process.

7. In the northern extent of the distribution of Carolina
Bays, their orientation varies by over 120 degrees and based
upon cross-cutting relationships and great differences in
the degree of degradation of their rims strong indication
of multiple generations of Carolina Bays having formed at
greatly different time. The claim by Firestone that both the
Carolina Bays and playa and other lakes point at a central
point is based him having overlooked a significant amount
of orientation data that both subtly and grossly contradicts
and ultimately refutes this claim of his.

8. Although it is still in the realm of speculation, there
appears to be evidence that indicates that the Carolina Bays
in the Midlothian area are much older than the typical
Carolina Bays that are found on Pleistocene coast-wise
terraces.

In my opinion, As far as the Carolina Bays are concerned,
they are a nothing more than a time-consuming red herring
of gigantic proportions. Even if the Carolina Bays are impact
features of some sort, they clearly are much too old be
connected in anyway with a Younger Dryas event.

I am not going into references and figures because I am
pulling this all together into a paper that I am working and
will submit to a journal that I know will both welcome it
and have it rigorously peer-reviewed. Before submitting
it, I will also have two or three select people review it.

Yours,

Paul H.

Saturday 14 November 2009

Is there a "search window" / search Option for "Meteorite Mailing List" ?????

Is there a "search window" / search Option for "Meteorite Mailing List" ?????

oxytropidoceras at cox.net oxytropidoceras at cox.net
Sat Nov 14 18:39:08 EST 2009

Carl wrote:
In [meteorite-list] WHY HELP A DUMB ASS NEWBIE?


>For those not familiar with Howard's input, please type

>"Howard Steffic" in the search window.

Did you write "Search Window"??

Does the Meteorite Mailing list have a "search window" / way of searching its postings? If so, could someone explain where it can be found. If not, maybe it is time that the posts on this list are made searchable using key words and author's names in some manner.

Best Regards,

Paul H.

You can search the Met-List archives here: *
http://www.mail-archive.com/meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com/info.html
*[only for certain years] added drtanuki

Latvia Meteorite Hoax

Latvia Meteorite Hoax

oxytropidoceras at cox.net oxytropidoceras at cox.net
Sat Nov 14 12:18:30 EST 2009

Dear Friends,

Below are a collection of articles about the Latvia Meteorite Hoax.

Geologist: Mazsalaca "meteorite" in Latvia is man-made,
Baltic Course, Oct. 27, 2009
http://www.baltic-course.com/eng/baltic_news/?doc=4078

Mobile Firm Admits 'Meteor' Was A PR Stunt
Sky News, Oct. 27, 2009, http://tiny.cc/BalticCrater1
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Latvia-Meteorite-Was-PR-Stunt-Admits-Mobile-Phone-Firm-Tele2/Article/200910415420502

Mobile firm behind meteorite hoax The Press
Association, Oct. 27, 2009, http://tiny.cc/BalticCrater2
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5gBHm5t2C43pU5r_fIsZ38JuSo6qQ

The hole was too tidy to have been caused by
a meteorite, he said, BBC News, Oct. 26, 2009?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8326483.stm

'Meteor' blast hoax revealed, by Harry Haydon,
The Sun, http://tiny.cc/BalticCrater3
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2699586/Meteor-blast-hoax-revealed.html

Tele2 planned meteorite hoax with media agency
Inspired, The Baltic Course, Oct. 27, 2009
http://www.baltic-course.com/eng/markets_and_companies/?doc=19841

Yours,

Paul H.

Friday 13 November 2009

Corrected URLs for "Mini ice age took hold of Europe in months" Post

Corrected URLs for "Mini ice age took hold of Europe in months" Post

oxytropidoceras at cox.net oxytropidoceras at cox.net
Fri Nov 13 13:52:05 EST 2009

The correct URLs for the papers mentioned in "Mini ice age
took hold of Europe in months" post are:

Wiersma, A. P., and H. Renssen, 2006, Model-data
comparison for the 8.2 ka BP event: confirmation of
a forcing mechanism by catastrophic drainage of
Laurentide Lakes. Quaternary Science Reviews.
vol. 25, no. 1-2, pp. 63-88.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2005.07.009

Another paper is:

Alleya, R. A., and A. M. Agustsdottira, 2005, The 8k
event: cause and consequences of a major Holocene
abrupt climate change. Quaternary Science Reviews.
vol. 24, no. 10-11, pp. 1123-1149.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2004.12.004

Mini ice age took hold of Europe in months

Mini ice age took hold of Europe in months

oxytropidoceras at cox.net oxytropidoceras at cox.net
Fri Nov 13 13:48:48 EST 2009

Mini ice age took hold of Europe in months
by Kate Ravilious, Nov. 11, 2009, New Scientist
Magazine no. 2734, http://tiny.cc/YoungerDryas
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20427344.800-mini-ice-age-took-hold-of-europe-in-months.html?full=true&print=true
http://www.newscientist.com/issue/2734

Dr. William Patterson’s Publications can be found at:
http://geochemistry.usask.ca/publications.html

The above article stated:

“Two studies published in 2006 show that the same
thing happened again 8200 years ago, when the
Northern hemisphere went through another cold spell”

The New Scientist article about these two studies is:

Broken ice dam blamed for 300-year chill by Kurt
Kleiner, January 10, 2006, New Scientist Magazine.
http://tiny.cc/8200BP
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn8558-broken-ice-dam-blamed-for-300year-chill.html

“In the new papers, one in the Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences and the other in the
current Quaternary Science Reviews, two teams of
researchers using different computer models say
that both models show that such a freshwater flood
could shut down ocean circulation in a way that is
consistent with temperature data from the time.”

These papers demonstrate that processes other than
extraterrestrial impacts can cause events very similar
to the Youmnger Dryas interval. They are:

LeGrande, A. N., G. A. Schmidt, D. T. Shindell, C. V.
Field, R. L. Miller, D. M. Koch, G. Faluvegi, and G.
Hoffmann, 2006, Consistent simulations of multiple
proxy responses to an abrupt climate change event.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of
the United States, vol. 103 no. 4, pp. 837-842
http://www.pnas.org/content/103/4/837.abstract

Wiersma, A. P., and H. Renssen, 2006, Model-data
comparison for the 8.2 ka BP event: confirmation of
a forcing mechanism by catastrophic drainage of
Laurentide Lakes. Quaternary Science Reviews.
vol. 25, no. 1-2, pp. 63-88.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2005.07.009"

Another paper is:

Alleya, R. A., and A. M. Agustsdottira, 2005, The 8k
event: cause and consequences of a major Holocene
abrupt climate change. Quaternary Science Reviews.
vol. 24, no. 10-11, pp. 1123-1149.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2004.12.004"

Yours,

Paul H.

Thursday 12 November 2009

YD impact - doing as best they can

YD impact - doing as best they can

oxytropidoceras at cox.net oxytropidoceras at cox.net
Thu Nov 12 14:59:31 EST 2009

In response to " Newly Published Junk Science on Younger Dryas Impact" at:
http://six.pairlist.net/pipermail/meteorite-list/2009-November/058066.html
E.P. Grondine stated:

"All I can do is re-iterate that there is no reason
for several of the peoples to have made up stories
of this impact, other than that it did occur. So I
have a very pro-impact bias, which you can dismiss
as nonsense based on fairly tales if you like.”

First a problem is that Native American oral history is not a
straight forward historical account as you insist that it is. It also
includes tribal religious beliefs and moral instruction. As a result,
history has been interpreted to support religion. Also, it contains
symbolism, which cannot be separate from historical observations.
Thus, it is a mistake to insist that Native American tradition be
interpreted literally just like Young Earth creationists insists the
Bible be interpreted literally. You are making materialistic
interpretations of literature that hopefully mixed together with
significant amounts of religious revelation, symbolism, and
teaching.

Finally, the Native American oral history lacks any precise and
reliable chronology. Even though oral history make mentions
of an event, it is impossible for you or anyone else to argue that
an event described in oral history is contemporaneous a
hypothesize Younger Dryas event. The events that you talk may
have happened hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands years
before the were first recorded in written form. There is a lack of
any means of securely dating events described in oral history
even if their reality and character is correctly interpreted by you.

If civilization was to crumble in the near future and either the
“Stars Fell on Alabama” lyrics were to survive, in oral tradition,
this cataclysm, I can vision future archaeologists and
anthropologists arguing over whether this song is evidence of
the event that caused the fall of our civilization or an earlier
cataclysm at the end of the Pleistocene. If this song was only
preserved in oral history, there would be no way of
determining when the event recorded in this song occurred.

Grondine further wrote:

“Except for the sudden drop in population
evidenced by the ending of quarry usage."

This interpretation, as a number of interpretations is hotly disputed
and remains unsettled at this time.

“While Firestone is a nuclear physicist with little
geological training, in point of fact the layer with
the markers is thin - there was not much material
deposited by this impact, unlike Chicxulub and
Shiva. So unless Ivester was very careful in his
sampling, he could have missed it.”

You are completely confused here. Dr. Firestone’s comments
concerned only optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating)
done by Ivester. The dismissive remarks by Dr. Firestone had
nothing to with impact ejecta or indicators of any type. Your
comments about Ivester missing a thin impact layer are totally
beside the point and irreverent to the discussion.

... irreverent Vogon Poetry about NASA omitted...

Grodine continued:

“Also, it is entirely possible that neutron production
in impact threw off Ivester's OSL dates. (Odessa
again.)”

If you take the time to read what is published about OSL dating, you will find that what you propose above scientifically bankrupt
nonsense. This is just a lame ad hoc hypothesis to arbitrarily
dismiss some unpleasant facts.

Grodine continued:

“As far as one point of impact goes, I can agree
with you about not being in the Lakes. Why?
The Five Nations would not have survived
and left us their account of it. I still favor the
Kiscoty, Alberta structure. Perhaps there are
other similar structures evidencing impacts in
ice sheets elsewhere, but then NASA is spending
$0 looking for them.”

Do you mean “Kitscoty”, not “Kiscoty”? The 2009 SEIS impact
crater database does not list any such reported impact structure.

...more Vogon Poetry about NASA and Morrison omitted...

Finally, Grodine stated:

“Dr. Firestone must be getting closer to nailing
this one down, or he would not upset you so.”

Given that Firestone has only managed with his latest article to
the get the attention of a single rather unimportant, insignificant
person, me, who only has a M.S. in Geology and the other
99.999 percent could care less about what he wrote in it, it
appears that Dr. Firestone nailed only his thumb and nothing
else according to the above logic.

In sharp contrast, the papers written by Dr. Kennett and others
have gotten the attention of major researchers and generated
additional research, and publication.

Best Regards,

Paul H.

Wednesday 11 November 2009

Newly Published Junk Science on Younger Dryas Impact

Newly Published Junk Science on Younger Dryas Impact

oxytropidoceras at cox.net oxytropidoceras at cox.net
Wed Nov 11 09:34:47 EST 2009

Darren Garrison quoted:

"On Wed, 11 Nov 2009 8:21:51 -0500, you wrote:

scientists into the validity of Younger Dryas hypothesis.
This paper shows the same basic illiteracy in geology
and geomorphology that characterizes "The Cycle of
Cosmic Catastrophes: How a"Stone-Age Comet
Changed the Course of World Culture."

Darren asked

"Hi, Paul. Did you read that book?"

Yes, I read the book. After finishing it, I was thankful that I
only paid fifty cents for a hard copy of it at a garage sale. The
accuracy with which the book correctly explained and
represented basic geologic principles and the scientific
literature that it cited was somewhere between the worst of
the term papers that I graded in Physical and Historical
Geology laboratories and books written by Young Earth
creationists. The few geologist and geomorphologists, who
I know have bothered to read this book have very similar
opinions of it.

Darrel wrote:

"Did you manage to finish it?"

Yes, I did. I took a bunch of notes for a review of the book that
I was going to do for the Hall of Maat web page, but never
found the time to write.

Yours,

Paul H.

Newly Published Junk Science on Younger Dryas Impact

Newly Published Junk Science on Younger Dryas Impact

oxytropidoceras at cox.net oxytropidoceras at cox.net
Wed Nov 11 08:21:15 EST 2009

Dear Friends,

Dr. Firestone has outdone himself by publishing what is a rather
wretched piece of junk science on the Younger Dryas impact in
a new web "Journal". This paper is:

Firestone, R. B., 2009, The Case for the Younger Dryas
Extraterrestrial Impact Event: Mammoth, Megafauna, and Clovis
Extinction, 12,900 Years Ago. Journal of Cosmology. vol. 2,
pp. 256-285.

http://journalofcosmology.com/Extinction105.html

I say that this paper is wretched because it shows a clear lack
of understanding of the published literature concerning various
aspects of geology and geomorphology For example, it completely
confuses the playa lakes of the High Plains with the Carolina Bays.
He either ignore or overlooks data and ignoring the research,
including dating of these features, that has been conducted by Dr.
Vance Holliday and others that completely refutes any association
between these lakes and the hypothesized Younger Dryas impact.

In addition, in this paper, Dr. Firestone, excluding the rather small
Charity Shoal feature whose age is still unknown, again claims
without any credible evidence that there are major impact structures
in the Great Lakes. This is based upon the unsupported and refutable
claim that glacial erosion is incapable of producing the deepest
parts of the Great Lakes. No mention is made of the documented
fact that undisturbed glacial tills and lake sediments predating the
Younger Dryas impact fill the lake bottom depressions, which Dr.
Firestone claims to Younger Dryas Impact craters.

In another case, Dr. Firestone dismisses out of hand, without any
credible explanation, the OSL dates of Dr. Alexander Ivester of the
Carolina Bays as being the result of improper sampling. Having
corresponded with Dr. Ivester I know that he was very, very careful
in his sampling. The unsupported claims by Dr. Firestone of Dr.
Ivester engaging in careless sampling is not only entirely unfounded,
but is a quite ignorant and completely undeserved insult on Dr.
Ivester's ability as a very exacting Quaternary geologist and
geochronologist. Dr. Ivester is very well trained in geomorphology
and Quaternary and was trained by one of the best Quaternary
geologists in business in the Southeast, Dr. David Leigh. Also, if
Dr. Firestone would look at the geologicalmaps of the Pleistocene
terraces of the North Atlantic coastal plain, he would find that the
Carolina Bays are only found on fluvial and coast-wise terraces that
are older than Marine Isotope Stage 2, which readily refutes any
claim that they formed by a much younger Younger Dryas impact.

All this paper will accomplish is cause geologists and Quaternary
geologists to ignore the serious research being conducted by other
scientists into the validity of Younger Dryas hypothesis. This paper
shows the same basic illiteracy in geology and geomorphology
that characterizes "The Cycle of Cosmic Catastrophes: How a
Stone-Age Comet Changed the Course of World Culture."

Yours,

Paul H.

Sunday 8 November 2009

Sudbury Impact Ended Creation of Banded Iron Formations

Sudbury Impact Ended Creation of Banded Iron Formations

oxytropidoceras at cox.net oxytropidoceras at cox.net
Sun Nov 8 11:30:05 EST 2009

There is a new paper published in the November 2009 issue of Geology
that argues that the Sudbury Impact in Canada ended the creation of
Banded Iron Formations during the Precambrian.

The paper is

Slack, J. F. and W. F. Cannon, 2009, Extraterrestrial demise of banded
iron formations 1.85 billion years ago. Geology. vol. 37, no. 11, pp. 1011-1014,
doi:10.1130/G30259A.1

http://geology.gsapubs.org/content/37/11/1011.abstract

Previous Geological Society of America Meeting abstracts can be found at:
http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2009AM/finalprogram/abstract_162145.htm
and http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2008AM/finalprogram/abstract_146662.htm

Other web pages:

Banded iron formation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banded_iron_formation

Banded Iron Formation
http://jersey.uoregon.edu/~mstrick/RogueComCollege/RCC_Lectures/Banded_Iron.html

Geologic evidence for major environmental change
http://tiny.cc/BandedIronClimate
http://academic.udayton.edu/MichaelSandy/Global%20warming%20powerpoints/Geologic%20evidence%20for%20global%20change.ppt

Yours,

Paul H.

Friday 6 November 2009

More K-T / K-Pg Boundary Papers

More K-T / K-Pg Boundary Papers

oxytropidoceras at cox.net oxytropidoceras at cox.net
Fri Nov 6 08:51:27 EST 2009

Dear Listmembers,

Below is another PDF file containing information about the
K-T / K-Pg Boundary event.

1. Rapid Environmental/Climate Changes And Catastrophic
Events in Late Cretaceous and Early Paleocene: RECCCE
Workshop, IGCP 555 European Group Meeting Abstracts
and Excursion Guide April 25th – 28th, 2009 Gams, Austria

Workshop and Joint Seminar coorganized by Austrian
Science Fund FWF, Russian Foundation for Basic Research
RFBR, Austrian Academy of Sciences (Austrian Committee
for IGCP), University of Vienna (Center for Earth Sciences),
Geological Survey of Austria, Nature Park Eisenwurzen, and
Styrian Nature Park Academy

http://www.geologie.ac.at/filestore/download/BR0078_001_A.pdf

The link to this publication is found on the "Cretaceous"
publications at http://jurassic.ru/cretaceous.eng.htm as

Rapid Environental/Climate Changes and Catastrophic Events
in Late Cretaceous and Early Paleogene. RECCCE Workshop.
IGCP 555 European Group Meeting Abstracts and Excursion
Guide April 25th – 28th, 2009 Gams, Austria // Berichte
Geol. B.-A. 2009. Bd.78. 74 pp.

2. Another paper is:

Prauss, M. L., 2009, The K/Pg boundary at Brazos-River, Texas,
USA — An approach by marine palynology. Palaeogeography,
Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. vol. 238, no. 3-4, pp. 195-215.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2009.09.024

3. Finally free PDF files of a number of more papers about the
K-T / K-Pg Boundary can be found in "Christian KOEBERL,
Univ. Professor Dr. List of Publications" at:

http://www.univie.ac.at/geochemistry/koeberl/publikation_list/

This web page has all many other PDF files of papers about
other impact craters, impactites, meteorites, and related topics.

Yours,

Paul H.

Thursday 5 November 2009

New Paper on Identifying Impact Structures in "Earth-Science Reviews"

New Paper on Identifying Impact Structures in "Earth-Science Reviews"

oxytropidoceras at cox.net oxytropidoceras at cox.net
Thu Nov 5 08:11:08 EST 2009

A new paper has been published online. It critically
reviews the reliability of different criteria used
to identify extraterrestrial impact structures.

French, B. M., and Koeberl, C., in press, The
convincing identification of terrestrial meteorite
impact structures: What works, what doesn't, and why.
Earth-Science Reviews, Article in Press
doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2009.10.009

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2009.10.009

Yours,

Paul H.

Wednesday 4 November 2009

"Ancient Atomic Bombs" (Libyan Desert Glass)

"Ancient Atomic Bombs" (Libyan Desert Glass)

oxytropidoceras at cox.net oxytropidoceras at cox.net
Wed Nov 4 23:18:20 EST 2009

In "Ancient Atomic Bombs" at,
http://six.pairlist.net/pipermail/meteorite-list/2009-October/057786.html
Michael Groetz asked:

"Sand dunes in the Egyptian desert. What
phenomenon could be capable of raising
the temperature of desert sand to at least
3,300 degrees Fahrenheit, casting it into
great sheets of solid yellow-green glass?

The article in question is "Ancient Atomic Bombs" by
Leonardo Vintini, Epoch Times, Oct. 31, 2009,

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/24575/

Contrary to the claims made in the article, an
extraterrestrial impact of some sort is capable of
explaining the Libyan Desert Glass as this material
is commonly called. Many of the objections are made in
this article are based upon a mixture of misinformation
and falsehoods presented in this article; research
either ignored or overlooked by in this article; and
over lack of understanding of what is currently known
about Libyan Desert Glass.

First, the article dismisses the involvement of an
extraterrestrial impact because of the "absence of
accompanying craters in the desert." The absence of an
impact crater in the vicinity of the Libyan Desert
Glass is not problem because an aerial burst, which
would have not left a crater, could have melted the
ground's surface to create it. Various researchers
have used computer models to demonstrate that this
physically possible. they include:

Boslough, M. B. E., and D.A. Crawford, 2008, Low-
altitude airbursts and the impact threat. International
Journal of Impact Engineering. vol. 35, no. 12,
pp. 1441-1448.

Svetsov V. V. and Wasson J. T. 2007. Melting of Soil
Rich in Quartz by Radiation from Aerial Bursts - A
Possible Cause of Formation of Libyan Desert Glass
and Layered Tektites. Abstracts of the Lunar and
Planetary Science Conference. 38th, Abstract no. 1499.

Wasson J. T., 2003., Large Aerial Bursts: An Important
Class of Terrestrial Accretionary Events. Astrobiology.
vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 163-179.

In addition, the Libyan Desert Glass (LDG) occurs as
surface lag composed of loose cobbles, pebbles, and
granules. Since the LDG is found in place, it allows for
a number of explanations of how the material was
created. These include the LDG is what remains of
former melt pool of a crater that has since been
eroded away, leaving a lag of fragmented glass, is
what remains of a solid sheet of glass created by an
aerial burst that has been completely fragmented by
subsequent erosion; and is what remains of impactites
created elsewhere outside its current distribution
and subsequently eroded from its original source, and
transported to where it is now found. There are a
number of pros and cons to these and other ideas
about how LDG formed, which are too lengthy to discuss
in any detail in this post.

The LDG is similar to Mong Nong-type tektites, which
with other Australasian tektites are of impact origin
and lack a known impact crater. ("impact origin" includes
both the terrestrial impact origin and impact of lunar
material hypotheses.) Thus, the LDG is not the only
glassy impactite that lacks a known crater.

Pertinent reference:

Ramirez-Cardona, M., El-Barkooky, A. Hamdan, M. Flores-
Castro, K., Jimenez-Martinez, N. I., and Mendoza-
Espinosa, M., 2008, On the Libyan Desert Silica Glass
(LDSG) transport model from a hypothetical impact
structure. PIS-01 General contributions to impact
structures, International Geological Congress Oslo
2008, Oslo, Norway.

http://www.cprm.gov.br/33IGC/1350834.html

The Epoch time article notes that:

"Neither satellite imagery nor sonar
has been able to find any holes."

The problem here is that "sonar" is not used to find
impact craters on land. In fact, it would be impossible
to use sonar for any purpose in the Sahara Desert where
LDG is found. This misinformation is an excellent
indication of an extreme lack of understanding of basic
science, bordering on illiteracy, on the part of this
article. The stilted and very imprecise use of terminology
in this article also a basic lack of scientific understanding
on the part of this article.

For some information on Sonar go read "Sonar" at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonar

"...the glass rocks found in the Libyan
Desert present a grade of transparency
and purity (99 percent) that is not typical
in the fusions of fallen meteorites, in
which iron and other materials are mixed in
with the cast silicon after the impact."

1. LDG varies greatly in transparency from being almost
transparent to being either translucent or opaque. There
is nothing about its transparency that preclude LDG from
being an impactite.

2. The percentage of silica in LDG matches the percentage
of silica found in sandstone bedrock that underlies the
areas in which LDG has been found, the location of at least
two impact structures near the area containing LDG; and
larges areas of the desert surrounding both the impact
structures and where LDG is found.

3. The LDG does contain extraterrestrial material derived
from meteorites / an asteroid mixed in with it. This Epoch
Times article is completely wrong about the absence of an
extraterrestrial component being presence within LDG.

A few of very many pertinent papers:

Abate, B., Koeberl, C., Kruger, F. J., and Underwood, J.
R., 1999, BP and Oasis impact structures, Libya, and their
relation to Libyan Desert Glass. In Dressler, B. O., and
Sharpton, V. L., eds., Gpp. 177-192. Geological Society
of America Special Paper no. 339.

Barrat J. A., Jahn B. M., Amosse J., Rocchia R., Keller,
F., Poupeau G. R., and Diemer E., 1997, Geochemistry and
origin of Libyan Desert glasses. Geochimica et Cosmochimica
Acta. vol. 61, no. 9, pp. 1953-1959.

Fudali, R. F., 1981, The major element chemistry of
Libyan desert glass and the mineralogy of its precursor.
Meteoritics. vol 16, pp. 247-259.

Kleinmann, B., 1969, The breakdown of zircon observed
in the Libyan desert glass as evidence of its impact
origin. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, vol. 5,
pp. 497-501.

Koeberl, C., 1996, Libyan Desert Glass: geochemical
composition and origin. In: de Michele, V., ed.,
pp. 121-131, Special publication of the Sahara Journal
- Silica '96. Proceedings of the Meeting on Libyan
Desert Glass and Related Events, July 1996, Milano.

Koeberl C., 2000, Confirmation of a meteoric component
in Libyan Desert Glass from osmium isotopic data.
Meteoritics & Planetary Science. vol. 35 (Supplement),
pp. A89-A90.

Koeberl C., Rampino M. R., Jalufka D. A. and Winiarski
D. H., 2003, A 2003 Expedition into the Libyan Desert
Glass Strewn Field, Great Sand Sea, Western Egypt.
Proceedings of the meeting on Large Meteorite Impacts
(2003), Lunar and Planetary Institute, USRA, Center of
Advanced Studies, Abstract no. 4079.

This epoch times article also stated:

"However, this doesn't explain how two of
the areas found in close proximity in the
Libyan Desert show the same pattern the
probability of two meteorite impacts so
close is very low."

Part of the problem here, is that the people who promote
the Libyan desert glass (LDG) as evidence of ancient
nuclear warfare ignore the fact that the LDG occurs as
erosional lags produced by the erosion, transportation
and redeposition of pieces of it over a period of millions
of years. Contrary to poetic descriptions by various
alternative archaeologists and early geologists, the "
glass fields" are not primary deposits formed by the either
the original airfall, base surge, or in place melting of
local sand. Rather, the LDG occurs as secondary, even
tertiary, concentrations, created over 26 million years,
of the more resistant pieces of LDG. The original Neogene
deposits, which either contained the LDG or on which formed
or fell have been eroded and the LDG released from them,
possibly transported some distance; and concentrated as
an erosional lag on the ground surface. As a result, the
current distribution of LDG likely is unrelated to its
origin. The present distribution of LDG reflects what has
happened to it over the last 26 million years instead of
how it was created.

Finally, the Epoch Times article states:

"Nor does it explain the absence of water
in the tektite specimens when these areas of
impact were thought to be covered in it some
14,000 years ago.'

1. The intense heat of formation of LDG is perfectly capable
of explaining its extremely low water content.

2. The LDG formed about 29 million years ago, not 14,000
year ago as this article incorrectly states above. Given
the age of LDG, it is impossible for this material to have
any connection with modern humans and manmade objects such
as nuclear weapons.

A few of many pertinent references:

Horn P., Müller-Sohnius D., Schaaf P., Kleinmann B. and
Storzer D., 1997, Potassium-argon and fission-track dating
of Libyan Desert Glass and strontium and neodymium constraints
on its source rocks. In: de Michele, V., ed., pp. 59-73,
Special publication of the Sahara Journal - Silica '96.
Proceedings of the Meeting on Libyan Desert Glass and Related
Events, July 1996, Milano.

Matsubara, K., Matsuda, J.I., and Koeberl, C., 1991, Noble
gases and K-Ar ages in Aouelloul, Zhamanshin, and Libyan
Desert impact glasses. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta
vol. 55, pp. 2951-2955.

This article fails to provide any convincing evidence that
there is any connection between LDG and ancient nuclear
warefare and that LDG is not an impactite. This Epoch Times
article does provide a lot misinformation and simply ignores
any research that contradicts its preconceived notions about
how LDG might have formed.

Yours,

Paul H

Making Short Links (Tiny URL) was "Re Dust in the Wind"

Making Short Links (Tiny URL) was "Re Dust in the Wind"

oxytropidoceras at cox.net oxytropidoceras at cox.net
Wed Nov 4 20:17:20 EST 2009

Graham wrote:

"and here is where the detail is...sorry about the long link...
never have figured out how to make those short links!!"

The best way to make short links is use the "Tiny URL" web page at:

http://www.tiny.cc/

There is more information about "Tiny URL" at;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TinyURL

Also, there is "URL Toolbox: 90+ URL Shortening Services" at;

http://mashable.com/2008/01/08/url-shortening-services/

And "URL Shortening Services" at:

http://www.hunch.com/url-shortening-services/

However, there are problems with Tiny URLs that are discussed in
"URL shortening" at;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/URL_shortening#Criticism

Best Regards,

Paul H.

PDF Files of Papers About K-T and Alledged Younger Dryas Impacts

PDF Files of Papers About K-T and Alledged Younger Dryas Impacts

oxytropidoceras at cox.net oxytropidoceras at cox.net
Wed Nov 4 19:59:58 EST 2009

I. Bass River Drilling Project - Cretaceous-Tertiary Boundary
http://geology.rutgers.edu/brimages.shtml

Ejecta layer at the K/T Boundary, Bass River, New Jersey by R. K. Olsson
and K. G. Miller
http://www.oceanleadership.org/files/USSSP/PDFs/Greatest_Hits/Events/Olsson.pdf

II. Chicxulub crater deep drilling project web page at:
http://we.vub.ac.be/~dglg/Web/Claeys/Chicxulub/Chixproject.html
and http://we.vub.ac.be/~dglg/Web/Claeys/Web-Chix/ICDP-Chix/chixintro.html

III. PDF Files of Philippe Claeys's Papers

There are a number of links to PDF files of papers concerning the
Chicxulub Crater and the Cretaceous - Tertiary (KT) Boundary
Mass Extinction Event by Philippe Claeys towards on his web
page at:

http://we.vub.ac.be/~dglg/Web/Claeys/Claeys.htm

They include:

Schulte, P., Speijer, R.P., Brinkhuis H., Kontny, A.,
Claeys, Ph., Galeotti, S., and Smit, J., 2008, Comment
on the paper: "Chicxulub impact predates K-T boundary:
New evidence from Brazos, Texas" by Keller et al.
(2007). Earth and Planetary Science Letters. vol. 269,
pp. 614-620.
http://we.vub.ac.be/~dglg/Web/Claeys/Pubs/Schulte-2008.pdf

Tagle R., Erzinger, J., Hecht, L., Schmitt, R. T.,
Stoeffler, D., and Claeys, Ph., 2004, Platinum group
elements in impactites of the ICDP Chicxulub drill core
Yaxcopoil-1. Are there traces of the projectile ?
Meteoritics and Planetary Science. vol. 39, pp. 1009-1016,
http://we.vub.ac.be/~dglg/Web/Claeys/Pubs/Tagle-etal-04.pdf

Urrutia-Fucugauchi, J., Morgan, J., Stoeffler, D., and Claeys,
Ph.,2004, The Chicxulub Scientific Drilling Project (CSDP).
Meteoritics and Planetary Science, vol. 39, pp. 787-790.
http://we.vub.ac.be/~dglg/Web/Claeys/Pubs/Urrutia-etal-04.pdf

Claeys, Ph., Heuschkel, S., Lounejeva-Baturina, E., Sanchez-
Rubio, G., Stoeffler, D., The suevite of drill hole Yucatan 6
in the Chicxulub impact crater. Meteoritics and Planetary
Science. vol. 38, pp. 1299-1317.
http://we.vub.ac.be/~dglg/Web/Claeys/Pubs/Claeys-etal-03.pdf

Claeys, Ph., Kiessling, W. and Alvarez, W., 2002, Distribution
of Chicxulub ejecta at the Cretaceous-Tertiary Boundary.
Geological Society of America Special Paper no. 356, pp. 55-69.
http://we.vub.ac.be/~dglg/Web/Claeys/Pubs/Claeys-etal-02.pdf
Kiessling, W. and Claeys, Ph., 2001, geographic database
approach to the K/T boundary. In Geological and Biological
Effects of Impact Events. Eds. E. Buffetaut, and Koeberl C.,
Impact Studies, Springer Verlag Berlin p.83-140.
http://we.vub.ac.be/~dglg/Web/Claeys/Pubs/Kiessling%26Claeys-01.pdf

Jones, A.P., Claeys, Ph., and Heuschkel, S. Impact melting:
a review of experimental constraints for carbonate targets
and applications to the Chicxulub crater. In Impact and
Early Earth. Eds. I. Gilmour and C. Koeberl, Lecture Notes
in Earth Sciences, v. 91, p. 343-362, Springer Verlag Berlin.
http://we.vub.ac.be/~dglg/Web/Claeys/Pubs/Jones-etal-01.pdf

Grajales-Nishimura, J. M., Cedillo-Pardo, E., Rosales-Domínguez,
C., Morán-Zenteno, J. D., Alvarez, W., Claeys, Ph., Ruíz-Morales,
J., García-Hernández, J., Padilla-Avila, P., and Sánchez-Ríos,
A., 1999, The Chicxulub impact: source for reservoirs and seals in
southeastern Mexico oil fields. Geology. vol. 28, no. 4, pp. 307-310.
http://we.vub.ac.be/~dglg/Web/Claeys/Pubs/Grajales-etal-00.pdf

Pope, K.O., Ocampo, A.C., Fisher, A. G., Alvarez W., Fouke,
B.W., Webster, C.L. Jr., Vega, F., Smit, J., Frische A. E.,
and Claeys, Ph., 1999, Proximal Chicxulub impact ejecta from
Albion Island, Belize. Earth and Planetary Science Letters.
vol. 170, pp. 351-364.
http://we.vub.ac.be/~dglg/Web/Claeys/Pubs/Pope-etal-99.pdf

Smit J., Roep, T.B., Alvarez W., Montanari, A., Claeys Ph.,
Grajales-Nishimura, J.M., and Bermudez, J., 1996, Coarse-grained,
clastic sandstone complex at the KT boundary around the Gulf
of Mexico: Deposition by tsunami waves induced by the Chicxulub
impact? Geological Society of America Special Paper, vol. 307, pp. 151-182.
http://we.vub.ac.be/~dglg/Web/Claeys/Pubs/Smit-etal-96.pdf

Warren, P. H., Claeys Ph. and Cedillo-Pardo E., 1996, Mega-
impact melt petrology (Chicxulub, Sudbury, and the Moon):
Effects of scale and other factors on potential for fractional
crystallization and development of cumulates. Geological
Society of America Special Paper. vol. 307, pp. 105-124.
http://we.vub.ac.be/~dglg/Web/Claeys/Pubs/Warren-etal-96.pdf

IV PDF files of some of his popular works can
be found in "Outreach to the media and public" at
http://we.vub.ac.be/~dglg/Web/Press/Press.htm

They include comments by him about the hypothesized
terminal Pleistocene "Clovis Comet" impact. including:

Le monde, 21 June 2008, interview in article: "La
thÅse de la mÄtÄorite tueuse de Mammouths sucite
de vifs dÄbats" [click here for article].
http://we.vub.ac.be/~dglg/Web/Press/Press.htm
http://we.vub.ac.be/~dglg/Web/Press/Pdf%20files/Sciencevie-march-09.pdf

Le monde, 05 January 2009, interview in article:
"Une crise Äcologique tombÄe du ciel il y a 12900 ans?"
http://we.vub.ac.be/~dglg/Web/Press/Press.htm
http://we.vub.ac.be/~dglg/Web/Press/Pdf%20files/Lemonde-4jan09.pdf

De Standaard, De Morgen, Het Laatste Nieuws, the
3 major Flemish newspapers, 20 October 2009, articles:
"Mammoet stierf niet uit door buitenaardse inslag"
http://we.vub.ac.be/~dglg/Web/Press/Press.htm
http://we.vub.ac.be/~dglg/Web/Press/Pdf%20files/DeStandaard201009.pdf

Le monde, 21 June 2008, interview in article: "La
thÅse de la mÄtÄorite tueuse de Mammouths sucite
de vifs dÄbats"
http://we.vub.ac.be/~dglg/Web/Press/Press.htm
http://we.vub.ac.be/~dglg/Web/Press/Pdf%20files/Lemonde.pdf

Yours,

Paul H.

Tuesday 3 November 2009

Ash Creek the most expensive ordinary chondrite?‏

Ash Creek the most expensive ordinary chondrite?‏

oxytropidoceras at cox.net oxytropidoceras at cox.net
Tue Nov 3 11:56:15 EST 2009

Count Deiro wrote:
“Good morning, afternoon, or evening...as the case may be,

The ersatz material Jason called attention to this morning
proves the adage "that a sucker is born every minute."

These frauds are damaging to all who are engaged in the
field of meteoritics whether it's collecting, study, display,
trade or sale, as a avacation or lively hood.

The question is...do the experts on the List feel any
obligation to take more comprehensive action to inform
the potential victims of these rascals? And what would
those actions be if a Listee was so inclined?”

The fundamental problem anyone, who engages in such action,
regardless of the truthfulness of their opinions, is going to be
vulnerable to all sort of lawsuits. Even if a lawsuit for either
libel or defamation is bogus, it can still be very costly in time
and money.That is why SLLAP lawsuits work all too well.

Regards,

Paul

Monday 2 November 2009

Hypervelocity impacts and neutron spallation

Hypervelocity impacts and neutron spallation

oxytropidoceras at cox.net oxytropidoceras at cox.net
Mon Nov 2 21:03:36 EST 2009

On Oct. 30, 2009 and in Hypervelocity impacts and neutron spallation
( http://six.pairlist.net/pipermail/meteorite-list/2009-October/057772.html )
E.P. Grondine wrote:

"This would all be blue sky, but for those 14C spikes... Chris,
I think I got the copy of the INTCAL98 chart from one of
Firestone's papers. Stuiver and Volcker (working with Iceland
marine data) were cited as the data sources. Firestone did not
create the INTCAL98 chart. The bumps around 10,900 BCE
were what set Firestone off on his search to find their source,
which led him at first to a nearby supernova and finally to impact."

First a good reference on radiocarbon dating and calibration is:

Hajdas, I., C. Kull, and T. Kiefer, 2006, 14C-Chronology.
PAGES News. vol. 14, no. 3.

http://www.pages-igbp.org/cgi-bin/WebObjects/products.woa/wa/product"id=276
15 MB version http://www.pages-igbp.org/products/newsletters/NL2006_3high_res.pdf
4 MB version http://www.pages-igbp.org/products/newsletters/NL2006_3low_res.pdf

Full references
http://www.pages-igbp.org/products/newsletters/ref2006_3.html

In the above publication, there is an article, "Cosmogenic
isotope 14C: Production and carbon cycle" by K. Hugen,
that discusses the processes that created the radiocarbon
spikes. He states that the changes in 14C concentration
(14C) are "due to changes in either the rate of 14C production
in the atmosphere (a function of geomagnetic field intensity
and solar variability), or the distribution of 14C between
different reservoirs in the global carbon cycle (primarily deep
ocean ventilation). In the Greenland ice cores there is a strong
correlation between the production of beryllium 10 and 14C,
which demonstrates that the radiocarbon spikes are related to
changes in the geomagnetic field intensity associated with the
Laschamp and Mono Lake geomagnetic minima."

Some relevant papers are:

Hughen, K., S. Lehman, J. Southon, J. Overpeck, O. Marchal,
C. Herring, and J. Turnbull, 2004, 14C Activity and Global
Carbon Cycle Changes over the Past 50,000 Years. Science.
vol. 303, no. 5655, pp. 202-207 DOI: 10.1126/science.1090300
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/303/5655/202
http://courses.washington.edu/proxies/Hughen-Cariaco_14C_0-50ka_Sci04.pdf

The abstract, in part, for this paper reads:

"Reconstructed 14C activities varied substantially during the
last glacial period, including sharp peaks synchronous with
the Laschamp and Mono Lake geomagnetic field intensity
minimal and cosmogenic nuclide peaks in ice cores and marine
sediments. Simulations with a geochemical box model suggest
that much of the variability can be explained by geomagnetically
modulated changes in 14C production rate together with
plausible changes in deep-ocean ventilation and the global
carbon cycle during glaciation."

Hughen, K. A., J. R. Southon, S. J. Lehman, and J. T.
Overpeck, 2000, Synchronous Radiocarbon and Climate
Shifts During the Last Deglaciation. Science. vol. 290,
pp. 1951-1954.
http://www.whoi.edu/cms/files/llippsett/2007/1/1951_17123.pdf
https://darchive.mblwhoilibrary.org/browse?value=Hughen%2C+K.&type=author

It abstract states:

"Carbon-14 and published beryllium-10 data together
suggest that concurrent climate and carbon-14 changes
were predominantly the result of abrupt shifts in deep
ocean ventilation."

Chiua, T.-C., R. G. Fairbanks, L. Cao, and R. A.
Mortlock, 2007, Analysis of the atmospheric 14C record
spanning the past 50,000 years derived from high-
precision 230Th/234U/238U, 231Pa/235U and 14C dates
on fossil corals. Quaternary Science Reviews. vol. 26,
no. 1-2, pp. 18-36.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2006.06.015
http://radiocarbon.ldeo.columbia.edu/pubs/2007_Chiu.pdf

Muscheler, R., J. Beer, P. W. Kubik, and H. A. Synal,
2005, Geomagnetic field intensity during the last
60,000 years based on 10Be and 36Cl from the Summit
ice cores and 14C. Quaternary Science Reviews. vol. 24,
pp. 1849-1860.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2005.01.012

Ice Core Data on Climate and Cosmic Ray Changes by Dr. J.
Beer, Federal Institute of Environmental Science and Technology,
EAWAG, CH-8600 Dubendorf, Switzerland.
http://cdsweb.cern.ch/record/557154/files/p3.pdf

The caption to Figure 7 of the above paper states:
"Figure 7: 14C peaks corresponding to periods of
low solar activity and possibly also reduced solar
irradiance."

Ramsey, C. B., 2008, Radiocarbon Dating: Revolution'
in Understanding. Archaeometry. vol. 50, no. 2,
pp. 249-275.
http://www.arch.unipi.it/Arias/Materiali_Web/Radiocarbonio/Ramsey_2008_C14%20dating

A number of papers about radiocarbon calibration can
be found in "Prof. Richard Fairbanks Publications" at;
http://www.radiocarbon.ldeo.columbia.edu/publications/index.htm

Yours,

Paul H.

Is the "K–T boundary" now the "K–Pg boundary" ??

Is the "K–T boundary" now the "K–Pg boundary" ??

oxytropidoceras at cox.net oxytropidoceras at cox.net
Mon Nov 2 20:59:45 EST 2009

Dear Listmembers,

The people on this list, who work with the K-T Boundary might
consider the likelyhood that the recent formal ratification of the
Quaternary System/Period and the Pleistocene Series/Epoch
systems has changes the "K-T Boundary" to the "K-Pg Boundary"
As discussed by Gibbad et al. (2009), the formal ratification of
the Quaternary System/Period and the Pleistocene Series/Epoch
systems by the Executive Committee of the International Union
of Geological Sciences (IUGS) has eliminated the "Tertiary" as a
formally recognized Period. As a result, the Cenozoic Era is now
divided into the Paleogene, Neogene, and Quaternary periods and
the "Tertiary" has been completely abandoned as either a period
or sub-era as shown in figure 1 of Gibbard et al. (2009). This
means that that the "tertiary" has been stripped of any formal
status in stratigraphic nomenclature. Thus, the "Cretaceous-
Tertiary Boundary" is no longer recognized terminology and
leaves the Cretaceous-Paleogene Boundary as the only officially
sanctioned way in terms of stratigraphic nomenclature of
designating this boundary.

Reference Cited

Gibbard , P L., M. J. Head , M. J. C. Walker, the Subcommission
on Quaternary Stratigraphy, 2009, Formal ratification of the
Quaternary System/Period and the Pleistocene Series/Epoch
with a base at 2.58 Ma. Journal of Quaternary Science.
Published Online: 22 Sep 2009

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/122602421/abstract

Yours,

Paul H.

Earth giving birth to moon

Earth giving birth to moon (And Email Posting Test)

oxytropidoceras at cox.net oxytropidoceras at cox.net
Mon Nov 2 16:27:57 EST 2009

Pete Shugar on Oct. 30, 2009, asked: ] "If I have the correct read on the hypothetical---- the moon would be only 200 ky old" Is this enough time for tidal action to bring the moon's rotation to a standstill" Just thinking......"

No.

The trouble is, as other people have pointed out, your question points out just one of innumerable easily documentable flaws in the ideas presented in the press release reveal the utter lack of knowledge of geology, astronomy, physics, and so forth of whoever wrote it.
This article disguised as a press release reminds meof the worst of the class papers that I had to read and grade as a teaching assistant in undergraduate physical geology laboratory.

Notice that Coleman's article about the "Big Bang Origin of the Moon" is not even an official article. Instead this article is just posted as a "press release" to Scoop.co.nz as a press release at
http://www.scoop.co.nz/about/contact.html as:

Peter Coleman: Big Bang Origin Of The Moon
Wednesday, 28 October 2009, 4:39 pm
Press Release: Peter Coleman
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/SC0910/S00066.htm

As far as I have found googling, no newspaper has yet been crazy enough to print this press release as real news.

My favorite line of evidence completely overlooked by whoever wrote this paper and various other catastrophists, who argue that the Moon is relatively young are ancient tidalites that demonstrate the presence of tides and, thus the Moon, as far back as 3.2 million years ago in
the Precambrian.

Some web pages are:

Where the Moon was at, 3.2 billion years ago
http://scienceblogs.com/highlyallochthonous/2007/07/where_the_moon_was_at_32_billi.php

Ancient Tides Recorded in Indiana Rocks by Erik P. Kvale
http://igs.indiana.edu/geology/ancient/tidaltime/index.cfm
ftp://igs.indiana.edu/pub/pdfdocuments/tideslesson.pdf

Tidal rhythmites and their implications by Rajat Mazumder and Makoto Arima
http://www.mantleplumes.org/WebDocuments/MazumderESR2004.pdf

An Analysis of Cyclic Tidal Deposits: Statistical Time Series Properties, Extraction of Earth-Moon Parameters, and Observed Intertidal Sedimentation by Christopher Lynn Coughenour http://idea.library.drexel.edu/bitstream/1860/3135/1/Coughenour_Christopher.pdf

Implications of lunar orbital periodicity from the Chaibasa tidal rhythmite (India) of late Paleoproterozoic age by Rajat Mazumder http://www.mantleplumes.org/WebDocuments/GEOY-32-10-841.pdf

1997, Tidalites in Big Cottonwood Canyon, with Al Archer and Steve Greb, during Geological Society of America Salt Lake City Meeting http://donchesnut.com/travels/geologyfield/geologyfield.html#cottonwood

Some random references:

Adkins, R. M. and K. A. Eriksson, 1999, Rhythmic sedimentation in a mid-Pennsylvanian delta front succession, Four Corners Formation (Breathitt Group), eastern Kentucky: a near complete
record of daily, semi-monthly and monthly tidal periodicities. in Tidalites: processes & products. Special publication no. 61. SEPM (Society for Sedimentary Geology). Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Alexander, C. R., R. A. Davis and V. J. Henry, eds., 1998, Tidalites: processes & products. Special publication no. 61. SEPM (Society for Sedimentary Geology). Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Archer, A. W., 1996. Reliability of lunar orbital periods extracted from ancient cyclic tidal rhythmites. Earth and Planetary Science Letters. vol. 141, pp. 1-10. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0012-821X(96)00063-5

Archer, A. W., G. Kuecher, and E. P. Kvale, 1995. The role of tidal-velocity asymmetries in the deposition of silty tidal rhythmites (Carboniferous, Eastern Interior Coal Basin). Journal of Sedimentary Research. vol. A65, pp. 408-416. http://jsedres.sepmonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/65/2a/408

Chan, M. A., E. P. Kvale, A. W. Archer, and C. P. Sonett, 1994. Oldest direct evidence of lunar-solar tidal forcing encoded in sedimentary rhythmites, Proterozoic Big Cottonwood Formation, central Utah. Geology. vol. 22, pp. 791-794. http://geology.geoscienceworld.org/cgi/content/abstract/22/9/791

Coughenour, C. L., A. W. Archer, and K. J. Lacovara, 2009, Tides, tidalites, and secular changes in the Earth-Moon system. Earth-Science Reviews, In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 3 October 2009 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2009.09.002

Davis, R. A., 2006, Precambrian tidalites from the Baraboo Quartzite Wisconsin, U.S.A. Marine Geology. vol.╩235,╩no. 1-4, pp.╩247-253. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2006.10.018

Eriksson, K. A., 1977, Tidal deposits from the Archaean Moodies Group, Barberton Mountain Land, South Africa.╩ Sedimentary Geology. vol. 18, pp. 257-281. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0037-0738(77)90015-X

Eriksson, K. A., 1982, Tidalites. in Encyclopaedia of Science & Technology. McGraw-Hill, New york.

Eriksson, K. A., and E. L. Simpson, 2000, Quantifying the
oldest tidal record: The 3.2 Ga Moodies Group, Barberton
Greenstone belt, South Africa. Geology. vol. 28, pp. 831-834
http://geology.geoscienceworld.org/cgi/content/abstract/28/9/831

Eriksson, K. A. and E. L. Simpson, 2004. Precambrian tidalites: recognition and significance. in The Precambrian Earth: Tempos and Events. Elsevier, New York.

By the way:

This is a test of my email posting from a non-Yahoo ISP. Somehow,
the settings of the Yahoo email accounts changed in a way that
introduced HTML into an email even when it is set to "plain text."
Since I have not yet determined how to get rid of the HTML, I have
moved to an email account on a non-Yahoo ISP. If anyone knows
how to get rid of the HTML even in teh plain text setting, I would
love to hear from you.

Yours,

Paul H.