End-Permian Mass Extinction Reexamined

End-Permian Mass Extinction Reexamined

End-Permian mass extinction was not so massive
By Belinda Smith, Cosmos Magazine
https://cosmosmagazine.com/palaeontology/mass-extinctions-were-not-so-massive-study

US paleontologists states once the dust settled
following the 'great dying' around 250 million
years ago, nearly 20% of species remained – not
4%. Belinda Smith reports.

Paleontologist suggests 'great dying' 252 million
years ago wasn't as bad as thought, October 4, 2016
http://phys.org/news/2016-10-paleontologist-great-dying-million-years.html

The paper is:

Stanley, S. M., 2016, Estimates of the magnitudes
of major marine mass extinctions in earth history.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
US, vol. 113 no. 42 E6325-E6334
http://www.pnas.org/content/113/42/E6325

Yours,


Paul H.

NASA’s Plan to Hunt for Fossils on Mars

NASA’s Plan to Hunt for Fossils on Mars

NASA's Amazing 2020 Mars Mission to Search for
Ancient Fossils --"Unlike Earth, Mars is a Beautifully
Preserved Fossil" The Daily Galaxy, ‎October 19, 2016‎
http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2016/10/nasas-amazing-2020-mars-mission-to-search-for-ancient-fossils-unlike-earth-mars-is-a-beautifully-pre.html

NASA’s Bold Plan to Hunt for Fossils on Mars
National Geographic, October 17, 2016
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/10/alien-fossils-nasa-exploring-mars-2020-space-science/

NASA Plans To Search For Martians: Where Will They
Begin The Hunt? Science World Report, Oct. 18, 2016‎
http://www.scienceworldreport.com/articles/50281/20161018/nasa-plans-search-martians-where-will-begin-hunt.htm

Yours,

Paul H.

Article on Hypothesized Scottish Precambrian Impact Crater

Article on Hypothesized Scottish Precambrian Impact Crater

Massive crater under small Scottish town could be the crash site of the first meteorite to hit the British Isles
Thought to be under the small town of Lairg, northern Scotland, it be one of the 15 largest known craters.
By Press Association and Libby Plummer, Mail Online, September 21, 2016
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3800595/Massive-crater-small-Scottish-town-crash-site-meteorite-hit-British-Isles.html

It is certainly not the "first" meteorite impact in British Isles, as there undoubtedly have been older ones.
Instead, it might be simply the oldest known impact in the British Isles. (Presuming that older impacts certainly have occurred and not be either preserved of found.) Like all news articles, some of the substance of the science has gotten either lost or misinterpreted in translation to lay English.

An interesting observation is that the impact crater lies on a piece of crust composed of  Lewisian Gneiss that was part of Rodina. At the time that impact occurred, Rodina was being rifted apart to form Laurentia (prehistoric North America). This piece of crust ended up as part of the Laurentian continental margin. It was this rifting that created active rift basins, in which the Stoer and Sleat Groups accumulated and the ejecta blanket was buried and preserved. Thus, at the time the impact occurred, it hit within what became
prehistoric North America and only much later ended up on the opposite side of the Atlantic.

A recent abstract is:

Simms, M. J., 2016, A Buried Impact Crater in Scotland. 79th Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society (2016) abstract no. 6090.
http://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/metsoc2016/pdf/6090.pdf

An older paper is:

Simms, M. J., 2015, The Stac Fada impact ejecta deposit and the Lairg Gravity Low: evidence for a buried Precambrian impact crater in Scotland? Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association. vol. 126, pp. 742–761

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282570971_The_Stac_Fada_impact_ejecta_deposit_and_the_Lairg_Gravity_Low_Evidence_for_a_buried_Precambrian_impact_crater_in_Scotland

and-
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Michael_Simms4/publication/282570971_The_Stac_Fada_impact_ejecta_deposit_and_the_Lairg_Gravity_Low_Evidence_for_a_buried_Precambrian_impact_crater_in_Scotland/links/562918eb08ae518e347c9074.pdf?inViewer=0&pdfJsDownload=0&origin=publication_detail

Yours,

Paul H.

Comet Strike May Have Triggered the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM)

Comet Strike May Have Triggered the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM)

Extraterrestrial Impact Preceded Ancient Global Warming Event
By Mary L. Martialay, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, October 13, 2016
http://news.rpi.edu/content/2016/10/13/extraterrestrial-impact-preceded-ancient-global-warming-event

Ancient Meteorite Impact Rained Debris On US East Coast
By Calla Cofield, Space.com Staff Writer | October 13, 2016 05:46pm ET
http://www.space.com/34384-ancient-meteorite-impact-hit-us-east-coast.html

Yours,

Paul H.

Chicxulub Impact Crater Investigation Begins in Earnest

Chicxulub Impact Crater Investigation Begins in Earnest

Chicxulub 'dinosaur crater' investigation begins in earnest
by Jonathan Amos, BBC News, October 11, 2016
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-37625348

Yours,

Paul H.

Annual Moon Impacts More Frequent Then Previously Estimated

Annual Moon Impacts More Frequent Then Previously Estimated

The moon has hundreds more craters than we thought
Daily News, October 12, 2016
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2108929-the-moon-has-hundreds-more-craters-than-we-thought/

How old is our Moon? Hundreds of previously unseen
craters could finally unlock its true age: New estimates
suggest 180 craters of at least ten metres in diameter
form each year by Liat Clark, Wired,

A facelift for the Moon every 81,000 years, October 12, 2016
http://phys.org/news/2016-10-facelift-moon-years.html
http://phys.org/news/2016-10-reveals-lunar-surface-features-younger.html

The paper is:

Speyerer, E. J., R. Z. Povilaitis, M. S. Robinson, P. C. Thomas,
And R. V. Wagner, 2016, Quantifying crater production
and regolith overturn on the Moon with temporal imaging.
Nature. Vol. 538, pp. 215–218 (13 October 2016) doi:10.1038/nature19829
http://nature.com/articles/doi:10.1038/nature19829

Yours,

Paul H.

No, the Rock You Found Is Not a Meteorite

No, the Rock You Found Is Not a Meteorite

Scientists: No, the Rock You Found Is Not a Meteorite
Thousands of space rock fans want to verify their meteorwrongs; ‘I don’t chat’ The wall Street Journal
http://www.wsj.com/articles/scientists-no-the-rock-you-found-is-not-a-meteorite-1473948988

Yours,

Paul H.

Impact Origin of Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) ?

Impact Origin of Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) ?

Glass bits, charcoal hint at 56-million-year-old space rock Impact. Timing coincides with period of rapid warming perhaps sparked by comet, Thomas Summer, Science News.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/glass-bits-charcoal-hint-56-million-year-old-space-rock-impact

Schaller, M.F., and others, 2016, Distal impact ejecta at Paleocene-Eocene boundary sections on the Atlantic Margin. Geological Society of America annual meeting, Denver, September 27, 2016. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 48, No. 7.
https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2016AM/webprogram/Paper286189.html
https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2016AM/webprogram/Session40161.html

Fung, M.K., and others, 2016, Widespread wildfires at the Paleocene Eocene boundary: Evidence from abundant charcoal preserved in the thick Marlboro Clay. Geological Society of America annual meeting, Denver, September 27, 2016. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 48, No. 7
https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2016AM/webprogram/Paper284983.html
https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2016AM/webprogram/Session40161.html

More papers at:
https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2016AM/webprogram/Session40161.html

Yours,

Paul H.