Papers Dispute the Existence of Wildfires with Start of Younger Dryas

Paul
Fri Feb 6 16:30:31 EST 2009

Two papers, both of which dispute the occurrence of wildfires
associated with a hypothetical impact event at the start of the
Younger Dryas, have been recently published. They are:

1. Marlon, J. R., P. J. Bartlein, M. K. Walsh, S. P. Harrison, K. J.
Brown, M. E. Edwards, P. E. Higuera, M. J. Power, R. S.
Anderson, C. Briles, A. Brunelle, C. Carcaillet, M. Daniels,
F. S. Hu, M. Lavoie, C. Long, T. Minckley, P. J. H. Richard,
A. C. Scott, D. S. Shafer, W. Tinner, C. E. Umbanhowar, Jr.,
and C. Whitlock, 2009, Wildfire responses to abrupt climate
change in North America. Proceedings for the National
Academy of Science. Published online before print
February 3, 2009, doi: 10.1073/pnas.0808212106

Abstract at:

http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2009/02/03/0808212106.abstract

and 2. van der Hammen, T. and B. van Geel, 2008, Charcoal
in soils of the Allerød-Younger Dryas transition were the
result of natural fires and not necessarily the effect of an extra-
terrestrial impact. Netherlands Journal of Geosciences (Geologie
en Mijnbouw) vol. 87, no. 4, pp. 359-361.

PDF file at:

http://www.imep-cnrs.com/docu/charcoal.pdf
http://www.njgonline.nl/publish/articles/000404/english.html

A paper about the role of climatic change unrelated to
extraterrestrial impacts in wildfire synchrony is:

Kitzberger, T., P. M. Brown, E. K. Heyerdahl, T. W. Swetnam,
and T. T. Veblen, 2007, Contingent Pacific–Atlantic Ocean
influence on multi-century wildfire synchrony over western
North America. Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences of the United States of America. vol. 104 , no. 2.
pp. 543-548.

Abstract at:

http://www.pnas.org/content/104/2/543.abstract

Yours,

Paul H.