Some United States Postal Service URLs

Paul bristolia at yahoo.com
Tue Apr 24 09:17:57 EDT 2007

Below are some United States Postal Service URLs, which might be
of interest to people.

United States Postal Service Mail Fraud Complaint Form

https://www.usps.com/postalinspectors/fraud/MailFraudComplaint.htm

Mail Fraud Report Form

https://www.usps.com/postalinspectors/ps8165.pdf

https://www.usps.com/postalinspectors/fraud/ContactUs.htm

Best Regards,

Paul

Chinese Meteorite Fraud on eBay - Federal Mail Fraud Charges??

Paul bristolia at yahoo.com
Tue Apr 24 09:05:29 EDT 2007

It was written

"Dear Adam and List,
Still more meteorite fraud still on eBay:"

...rest of text removed...

Looking the mailing instructions, the person or persons are
using the US mail to send their "merchandise" to the auction
winners. It seems like the use of the US mail would make
them open to federal mail fraud charges if one of the winners
or someone else complained to the United States Postal Service.

Best Regards,

Paul

Mysterious stone eggs...

Paul bristolia at yahoo.com
Sat Apr 21 22:09:44 EDT 2007

kevin decker asked if the "Mysterious stone eggs..." from Hunan
Province..China. were "Something like The Eggs from the Osceola
Impact Crater?"

No. They are meter-scale, cannonball concretions. Cannonball
concretions, composed of carbonate-cemented sediments, of their
size have been found in a number of places, including:

1. Rock City, Kansas

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_City%2C_Kansas

2. Along the along the Cannonball River within Morton and
Sioux Counties, North Dakota

http://nd.water.usgs.gov/lewisandclark/points/concretions.html
http://nd.water.usgs.gov/lewisandclark/photos2.html
http://meteorites.wustl.edu/id/cannonball.htm

3. In the Frontier Formation in northeast Utah and central
Wyoming.

http://jsedres.sepmonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/73/3/462
http://www.wvup.edu/ecrisp/crisphomepage.htm

4. Along the shores of Hokianga Harbour of Hokianga, North
Island, New Zealand

http://www.hokiangatourism.org.nz/activities/koutuboulders.htm

5. near Mecevici, Ozimici, and Zavidovici in Bosnia-Herzegovina

and 6. near Moeraki, South Island, New Zealand

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moeraki_Boulders
http://jsedres.sepmonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/55/3/398
http://www.teara.govt.nz/1966/M/MoerakiBoulders/MoerakiBoulders/en

Some papers, which describe, illustrate, and discuss the origin
of cannonball concretions, which are similar in size to the
Chinese "mysterious stone eggs" are:

Abdel-Wahab, A., and E. F. McBride, 2001, Origin of giant
calcite-cemented concretions, Temple Member, Qasr El Sagha
Formation (Eocene), Faiyum depression, Egypt. Journal
Sedimentary Research. vol. 71, pp. 70-81.

Boles, J. R., C. A. Landis, and P. Dale, 1985, The Moeraki
Boulders; anatomy of some septarian concretions. Journal of
Sedimentary Petrology. vol. 55, no. 3, pp. 398-406.

Forsyth, P. J., and G. Coates, 1992, The Moeraki boulders.
Institute of Geological & Nuclear Sciences. Information Series
no. 1, Lower Hutt, New Zealand.

McBride, E. F., and K. L. Milliken, 2006, Giant calcite-cemented
concretions, Dakota Formation, central Kansas, USA. Sedimentology.
vol. 53, no. 5, pp. 1161–1179.

McBride, E. F., M. D. Picard, and K. L. Milliken, 2003, Calcite-
Cemented Concretions in Cretaceous Sandstone, Wyoming and Utah,
U.S.A. Journal of Sedimentary Research. vol. 73, no. 3,
pp. 462-483.

Thyne, G. D., and J. R. Boles, 1989, Isotopic evidence for
origin of the Moeraki septarian concretions, New Zealand:
Journal of Sedimentary Petrology. vol. 59, no. 2, pp. 272-279.

The original article which discusses the "Mysterious stone
eggs" is:

Mysterious Huge Stone Eggs Discovered in Hunan Province, Epoch
Times Staff, April 17, 2007.

It can be found at:

http://en.epochtimes.com/news/7-4-17/54224.html

The article stated in part:

"Upon photo analysis geologists believe that the
stone eggs are rare, large concretions of the
carbonate rock. They were formed, starting from a
tiny nucleus in the center, snowballing slowly in
the oscillating sea water."

In this sentence, the reporter has very likely either mistranslated
what the geologists told him or her or is indulging in some poetic
license in writing his his story. No geologist, whom I know, would
argue that these concretions formed like snowballs. Instead, these
concretions, like many other cannonball concretions, started growing
within sediment underlying the bottom of a sea or ocean only after
it had accumulated. In the pictures accompanying the articles,
the original layering of the strata, in which the concretion grew,
can be seen as concentric rings around one of these concretions.

The original Chinese article is at

http://epochtimes.com/gb/7/4/1/n1665041.htm

Looking at the lowermost figure in the Chinese article, I have to
wonder, being unable to read Chinese, if the author of the Chinese
article is confusing them with the man made stone balls in Costa
Rica. (A translation of this article would be greatly appreciated.)

Best Regards,

Paul H.

Iron Sulfide Concretions Selling for 6.08 Dollars a Gram (eBay)

Paul bristolia at yahoo.com
Sat Apr 21 20:38:54 EDT 2007

If a person wants to see an example of geological illiteracy, which is
on par with the worst of the meteorwrongs, which have appeared on
Ebay, they can go to the "Awesome Boji(r) Stones! Balance/Align
Chakras!", Item number: 130101485377, at;

http://cgi.ebay.com/Awesome-Boji-r-Stones-Balance-Align-Chakras_W0QQitemZ130101485377QQihZ003QQcategoryZ19268QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

The eBay web page, along with the usual pseudo-scientific, mumble
jumble about healing properties normally associated with these objects
does correctly identify the "Boji(r) Stones, also known as Kansas Pop
Rocks" as being concretions. However, it incorrectly states among
many other claims, that these iron-sulfide concretions are composed
of "iron-magnetite".

Despite the fact that the items, which are being auctioned are
nothing more than ordinary iron-sulfide concretions, of which
thousands can be found eroding out of the Smoky Hill Member of
Niobrara Formation, the bidding as of 7:45 Eastern Standard Time
had reached 152.50 dollars. Given that stated weight of each
concretion is 12.5 and 12.6 grams, for a total weight of 25.1 grams,
the dollar per gram cost comes to 6.08 dollars per gram.

It shows a significant degree of geologic illiteracy that some people
are willing pay for ordinary iron-sulfide concretions, which completely
lack any scientifically documented healing properties as argued for
by personal religious beliefs and erode out of Kansas chalk by the
thousand, as much per gram as some meteorites. Looking at web
pages like this, it should not be surprising that meteorwrongs are
also a standard part of eBay sales.

It seems like anybody looking for meteorites in Kansas could make
some money by leasing their own outcrop of the Smoky Hill
Member of Niobrara Formation to mine iron sulfide concretions
from and selling them under their own trademarked name with
similar claims for them having healing powers. It seems like
iron sulfide concretions from any formation could be marketed
with the right trademarked name and suitable mumble jumble
about them having healing powers; being useful for aligning a
person metaphysically; balancing a person's energy field; and
relieving their pain and there would be no shortage of people
willing pay several dollars per gram to purchase them. Given this
type of scientific illiteracy, which pervades it, eBay would one of
many places a person could sell them with great success.

Best Regards,

Paul

GSA Paper Demonstrates Single Impact at Cretaceous-Tertiary Boundary

Paul bristolia at yahoo.com
Mon Apr 2 08:28:10 EDT 2007

Dear friends,

There is a new paper on the impact and extinction
at the Cretaceous-Tertiary Boundary. It is:

MacLeod1, K. G., Whitney, D. L., , Huber, B. T.,
and Koeberl, K., 2007, Impact and extinction in
remarkably complete Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary
sections from Demerara Rise, tropical western
North Atlantic. Geological Society of America.
vol. 119, no. 1, pp. 101-115.

http://www.gsajournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-abstract&doi=10.1130%2FB25955.1

They found a single, about 2-cm thick, layer of
spherules, which is interpreted to a primary air-
fall deposit. They found no other spherule layers
in the multiple cores of the K-T boundary section,
which were recovered.

They concluded:

"Sedimentological, geochemical, and paleontological
changes across the boundary closely match patterns
expected for a mass extinction caused by a single
impact."

Best Regards,

Paul
Baton Rouge, LA

Impact Origin of Silverpit Structure Disputed

Paul bristolia at yahoo.com
Fri Mar 30 09:48:46 EDT 2007

The controversy over the origin of the Silverpit
Structure continues.

UK impact crater debate heats up by Jonathan Fildes
BBC News, March 30, 2007

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6503543.stm

Geology of Silverpit Structure Area

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6503543.stm#map

Alternative Theory for Origin of Silverpit Structure

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/07/sci_nat_enl_1175254561/html/1.stm

Best Regards,

Paul
Baton Rouge, LA

New Meteorite Crater Found in California

Paul bristolia at yahoo.com
Fri Mar 30 09:04:18 EDT 2007

1. Giant Meteorite Hit Ancient California, Crater Study Suggests
by John Roach, National Geographic News, March 27, 2007

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/03/070327-california-crater.html

"The proposed impact may have created the giant 3.4-mile-wide
(5.5-kilometer-wide) craterlike formation that the team found
buried 4,900 to 5,250 feet (1,490 to 1,600 meters) below sea
level west of Stockton, California."

they think it is between 37 to 49 million years old.

++++

2. Oil exploration in California Reveals Giant Impact Crater
CCN Magazine, CA - Mar 22, 2007

http://www.ccnmag.com/news.php?id=4947

++++

3. Crater' spied under California, BBC News, UK, March 16, 2007

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6458841.stm

Bets Regards,

Paul
Baton Rouge, LA

Need Recommendations for Petrographic Thin Section Maker

Paul bristolia at yahoo.com
Thu Mar 29 14:45:50 EDT 2007

Dear list members,

I need a number of petrographic thin sections made
for a project. Unfortunately, the petrographic thin
section lab, which I used has gone out of business.

Can anyone recommend, off list if desired, one or
more petrographic thin section lab(s), who make
quality standard petrographic thin sections?

Yours,

Paul
Baton Rouge, LA

New Paper in Chicxulub - K-T Boundary Controversy Published

Paul bristolia at yahoo.com
Tue Mar 13 08:36:08 EDT 2007

Dr. Gerta Keller and coauthors have published another paper
about their hypothesis that the Chicxulub impact predates
K–T boundary. This time, they reinterpret the K-T Boundary
found exposed along and near the Brazos River in Texas.

The paper is:

Keller, G., T. Adatte, Z. Berner, M. Harting, G. Baum, M.
Prauss, A. Tantawy and D. Stueben, 2007, Chicxulub impact
predates K–T boundary: New evidence from Brazos, Texas.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters. vol. 255, no. 3-4 , 30
pp. 339-356. doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2006.12.026

The link to the abstract can be found at:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/0012821X

Best Regards,

Paul H.

Impact Origin of Carolina Bays Argued For at 2007AGU Meeting

Paul bristolia at yahoo.com
Sun Mar 11 11:04:01 EDT 2007

Sterling K. Webb wrote on Sun March 11, 2007

>Hi, List,

>

>Thanks, Paul, for those links.

You and the list might be interested to know that
there is a competing session Carolina Bays. A more
mainstream point of view on their formation will be
given at the Geological Society of America Southeastern
Section-56th Annual Meeting (29-30 March 2007) in a
session titled "S6. Geology and Ecology of Carolina
Bays" at:

http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2007SE/finalprogram/session_18800.htm

The paper in this session include 1. "The Sedimentology
and Ages of Carolina Bays Sand Rims" by Dr. Ivestor at:

http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2007SE/finalprogram/abstract_119179.htm

This abstract states in part:

"Water-lain pebbles intercalated with eolian sands indicate
that these are typical shoreline deposits resulting from
fluctuations in water level."

"At individual bays where concentric rims occur, dating has
established that rims are progressively younger toward the center
of the bay, reflecting a regressive sequence and confirming that
the bays are not single-event features but evolve as a result of
processes active episodically over a long period of time. Active
shorelines and associated eolian deposition occurred during
marine isotope stage (MIS) 2 to late MIS 3 (~12 to 50 ka), MIS 4
to very late MIS 5 (60-80 ka), and late MIS 6 (120 to 140 ka)
based on a cumulative total of 45 OSL dates. These age ranges
also correspond with the ages of other eolian landforms in the
Coastal Plain, including sand sheets and dunefields, and suggest
a climatic threshold was crossed during the transition toward
glacial stadials, initiating both bay and dune activity."

Another abstract is "Geomorphic History of the Carolina Bays"
by Ray Kaczorowski at:

http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2007SE/finalprogram/abstract_118906.htm

Needless to say, this activity will be quite fun to watch as
all of these ideas are sorted out.

Best Regards,

Paul H.

Meteorite Article From Gem and Mineral Society Newsletter

Paul bristolia at yahoo.com
Sat Mar 10 17:50:38 EST 2007

An example of what is being written about meteorites
in the newsletters of gem and mineral societies can
be found online. It is:

Rike III, Z. W., 2006, Meteoroids, Meteors and
Meteorites - Part 1. Pineywoods Rooter, Novmeber 2006,
Pine Country Gem & Mineral Society.

This article is repinted on pages 27 – 31 of vol. 38,
no.2 (February 2007) of the Backbend's Gazette, which
published by the Houston Gem and Mineral Society
( http://www.hgms.org/ ). The article and issue
can downloaded from the February 2007 link on the back
issue web page at:

http://www.hgms.org/Backbender'sGazetteIssues.html

and directly from:

http://www.hgms.org/BBG/Feb07.pdf

One way of reaching new people, would be to write popular
articles for your local Gem and Mineral Society about
various topics related to meteorites, impactites, tektites,
and so forth. These newsletters would be a good places
to educate the public about meteorites and meteorwrongs.

Best Regards,

Paul H.

Impact Origin of Carolina Bays Argued For at 2007 AGU Meeting

Paul bristolia at yahoo.com
Sat Mar 10 15:00:15 EST 2007

Dear Friends,

Apparently, there is going to be some interesting papers
at the 2007 Joint Assembly of the American Geophysical
Union as there will be a session presenting evidence for
an impact having occurred during Younger-Dyras times
at the "end of the last Ice Age. Below are links to
representative abstracts:

1. Evidence for an Extraterrestrial Impact Event 12,900 years
ago that Contributed to Megafaunal Extinctions and the Younger
Dryas Cooling

http://submissions5.agu.org/aguconvener/ConvenerView.asp?ref=1388

2. Formation of the Carolina Bays: ET Impact vs. Wind-and-Water
http://submissions5.agu.org/aguconvener/ConvenerView.asp?ref=1334

3. Extraterrestrial Markers Found at Clovis Sites Across North
America

http://submissions5.agu.org/aguconvener/ConvenerView.asp?ref=1393

4. Is There Evidence for Impact-Triggered Fires at the End
Pleistocene?

http://submissions5.agu.org/aguconvener/ConvenerView.asp?ref=513

The session itself is " PP05: New Insights into Younger Dryas
Climatic Instability, Mass Extinction, the Clovis People, and
Extraterrestrial Impacts

http://www.agu.org/meetings/ja07/?content=search&show=detail&sessid=159

It looks like Firestone and his supporters are refining their
arguments and dropping the implausible ones, i.e. the so-called
meteor crater in Lake Michigan, and concentrating on what they
regard the basic evidence for their ideas.

Best Regards,

Paul H.

Many United States Geological Survey Publications Now Online

Paul bristolia at yahoo.com
Fri Mar 9 10:12:19 EST 2007

Gary wrote:

“DJVU files... does this stand for Deja Vu files? I
have some of them that pop up once in a while :)”

Yes. I would much prefer if the USGS had used PDF
files instead. I have no idea why they choose the
Deja Vu format over the PDF format.

The plugins for Deja Vu files can be found at

http://www.lizardtech.com/download/dl_download.php?detail=doc_djvu_plugin&platform=win

or

http://www.lizardtech.com/download/dl_download.php?detail=doc_djvu_plugin&platform=macx

For some reason my Mac PowerPC G5 does not
print Deja Vu files. Although it acts like it is
printing the files, nothing ever comes out of the
Tektronix Phaser 7300 printer.

Yours,

Paul

Many United States Geological Survey Publications Now Online

Paul bristolia at yahoo.com
Thu Mar 8 22:32:48 EST 2007

Many Unites States Geological Survey Publications are
now online as DJVU files. Advanced Search for these
publications is at:

http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/usgspubs/index.jsp

For example, meteorite related USGS publications, which
can be viewed and downloaded are:

1. Cosmochemistry; Part 1, Meteorites, Professional Paper
440-B-1, by B. Mason at:

http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/usgspubs/pp/pp440B1

and 2. The disintegration of the Wolf Creek meteorite
and the formation of pecoraite, the nickel analog of
clinochrysotile, Professional Paper 384-C, by Faust,
George T.; Fahey, J. J.; Mason, B. H.; and Dwornik, E. J.

http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/usgspubs/pp/pp384C

Yours,

Paul H.

"Meteorites in Indiana" web page

Paul bristolia at yahoo.com
Thu Mar 1 08:24:49 EST 2007

Dear Friends,

There is a "Meteorites in Indiana" web page at

http://igs.indiana.edu/geology/extraTerrestrial/meteorites/index.cfm

They have a list of meteorites found in Indiana.

Best Regards,

Paul
Baton Rouge, LA

New Papers on Triassic - Jurassic Extinctions and Boundary

Paul bristolia at yahoo.com
Tue Jan 23 13:11:52 EST 2007

The latest issue, vol. 244, no. 1-4 (February 9,
2007), of Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology,
Palaeoecology is devoted to “Triassic-Jurassic
Boundary events: problems, progress, possibilities”.
It contains a number of papers, which discuss the
various theories about what created the Triassic
- Jurassic extinctions. The table of contents can be
found at:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00310182

They include:

Hesselbo, S. P., McRoberts, C. A., and Palfy, J., 2007,
Triassic–Jurassic boundary events: Problems, progress,
possibilities. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology,
Palaeoecology. vol. 244, no. 1-4 , pp. 1-10.

In the above paper, they stated:

"The debate about extraterrestrial versus volcanic drivers
for environmental change has not yet been concluded, and
it is noteworthy that all of the candidate indicators of
extraterrestrial impact - reports of PGE's and soft sediment
deformation - occur shortly prior to CAMP volcanic activity.
Pure coincidence aside, this observation keeps alive the idea
that there is an 'impact signal'-LIP connection, even if the
mechanisms remain highly controversial; for example,
impact decompression melting, as recently articulated by
Elkins-Tanton and Hager (2005), or lithospheric gas
explosion (Phipps Morgan et al., 2005)."

Another paper is:

Michalíka, J., Lintnerovab, O., Gadzickic, A., and Sotakd,
J., 2007, Record of environmental changes in the Triassic-
Jurassic boundary interval in the Zliechov Basin, Western
Carpathians. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology,
Palaeoecology. vol. 244, no. 1-4 pp. 71-88.

This paper states:

“The negative delta 13C excursion is correlated with a
positive delta 18O peak and the beds containing the
excursion are overlain by a thin layer with unusual
lithological and mineral composition. This layer is
composed of small calcitized microspheres showing
complex alteration during diagenesis. The origin of this
layer, traceable over tens of kilometres, is problematic
(impact ejecta, volcanic glass, or altered aragonitic
particles).”

Yours,

Paul H.

Alleged Meteorites and Craters Found Near Egyptian Pyramids

Paul bristolia at yahoo.com
Sun Jan 21 21:07:21 EST 2007

Does anyone know what the below research is about?

Meteorites from under the pyramids, "mp, tr.ajfb krx",
AGH University of Science and Technology

http://en.naukawpolsce.pl/naukaen/index.jsp?place=Lead02&news_cat_id=269&news_id=4944&layout=2&forum_id=1118&page=text

In part the article stated:

"According to "Dziennik Polski", the scientists were
intrigued by some unusual structures, which resembled
craters formed after meteorites hit the ground. They
noticed them when analysing satellite pictures of areas
north of the great pyramids in Giza."

“We found very solid metallic fragments in this area.
These are probably meteorite fragments” – says Prof.
Maciej Pawlikowski from the Mineralogy, Petrography
and Geochemistry department at AGH University, who
was the supervisor and main organiser of the
geological expedition. “We hope that further tests on
the patina covering the rocks, which formed during
the meteorites’ fall, will help us to establish the
exact time of the event” – the scientists said."

According to the article;, they found the alleged
craters and meteorite fragments as part of expedition
to study "geoglyphics'. They are described as
"gigantic pictures on the ground" which are located
east of Cairo and consist of "two several-kilometre-
long curved lines, which almost meet in one point"
and "look like a huge drawing of a scarab".

Does anyone have the latitude and longitude for
either the alleged "craters" or alleged "geoglyphic"?

Best Regards,

Paul H.

the ULTRA scam!

Paul bristolia at yahoo.com
Sat Jan 6 14:59:55 EST 2007

Greg wrote:

“I received the same email yesterday but had deleted
it after reading the first couple words. After Michael
posted his scam email, I went back and re-read it.
They were the same.’

You might want to look at the “2005 Ig Noble Award
for Literature” at:

http://interactive.usc.edu/members/sfisher/archives/2005/10/2005_ig_noble_a_1.html

and “The 2005 Ig Nobel Prize Winners” at:

http://www.improb.com/ig/ig-pastwinners.html#ig2005

The 2005 ignoble for literature was awarded to
"The Internet entrepreneurs of Nigeria, for creating
and then using e-mail to distribute a bold series of
short stories, thus introducing millions of readers
to a cast of rich characters”
”

Also, there is the “Nigerian Fraud Email Gallery” at:

http://www.potifos.com/fraud/

Yours

100, 000 to 200, 000 BP Western Desert of Egypt Impact

Paul bristolia at yahoo.com
Mon Dec 18 09:58:49 EST 2006

Dear Friends,

A paper about a proposed Pleistocene impact in the
western Desert of Egypt is in press in the Earth and
Planetary Science Letters.

It is:

Osinski, G. R., H. P. Schwarcz, J. R. Smith, M. R.
Kleindienst, A. F.C. Haldemann and C. S. Churcher.
in Press, Evidence for a 200-100 ka meteorite impact
in the Western Desert of Egypt. Earth and Planetary
Science Letters. available online December 2006

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/0012821X

This paper argues that unusual silicate glasses found
near the Dakhleh Oasis, Western Desert, Egypt is the
result of either a "cratering event or a large aerial burst",
which occurred about 100,000 to 200,000 year ago
according to Ar/Ar dating and geoarcaheological
evidence.

Some web pages:

1. Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt
http://epsc.wustl.edu/~kieniewicz/dakhleh_oasis.htm

2. Excavations at Mut el-Kharab, Dakhleh Oasis
http://arts.monash.edu.au/archaeology/excavations/dakhleh/index.html
http://arts.monash.edu.au/archaeology/excavations/dakhleh/mut-el-kharab/index.html

3. Haldemann, A. F. C., M. R. Kleindienst, C. S.
Churcher, J. R. Smith, H. Schwarcz, K. Markham, and
G. Osinski, 2005, Mapping Impact Modified Sediments:
Subtle Remote-Sensing Signatures of the Dakhleh
Oasis Catastrophic Event, Western Desert, Egypt.
American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #37, #17.03;
Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 37, p.648

http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2005DPS....37.1703H

Yours,

Paul H.

New Papers About Permian Mass Extinctions

Paul bristolia at yahoo.com
Tue Nov 28 13:25:21 EST 2006

Dear Friends,

Two recent papers, which are coauthored by Dr. Greg J.
Retallack and discuss the Permian mass extinction, have
been recently published.

They are:

Retallack, G.J. and Krull, E.S. 2006. Carbon isotopic evidence
for terminal-Permian methane outbursts and their role in
extinctions of animals, plants, coral reefs and peat swamps.
In Greb, S. and DiMichele, W.A., Editors, Wetlands through
time. Special Paper of the Geological Society of America.
vol 399, p 249-268.

The 3 MB version of the above paper can be downloaded from:

http://www.uoregon.edu/~gregr/Papers/Ragnarok2.pdf

This paper provides a very detailed discussion of what he and
his coauthors argued caused the Permian mass extinction.

Also, there is:

Retallack, G.J., Greaver, T., Jahren, A.H., Smith, R.M.H.,
Sheldon, N.D., and Metzger, C.A., 2006, Middle-Late
Permian mass extinction on land. Geological Society of
America Bulletin. vol. 118, p. 1398–1411.

The 1.5 MB version of the above paper can be downloaded from:

http://www.uoregon.edu/~gregr/Papers/Mid-Late%20Permian%20extinction.pdf

The above Geological Society of America Bulletin paper is
interesting because, they recognize two distinct and separate
geologically abrupt mass extinctions on land. One of these
occurs at the end of the Middle Permian (Guadalupian) at
260.4 Ma and a later one occurring with the Permian Period
at 251 Ma. Both of these correspond to previously recognized
marine mass extinctions. He is quite skeptical of the Permian
mass extinctions as having been related to any asteroid or
comet impact.

Other papers coauthored by Greg J. Retallack, which are
related to the Permian extinction can be found at:

http://www.uoregon.edu/~gregr/publications.html

They include:

Retallack, G.J., Jahren, A.H., Sheldon, N.D., Chakrabarti, R.,
Metzger, C.A., and Smith, R.M.H., 2005. Permian-Triassic
boundary in Antarctica. Antarctic Science 17, 241-258.

The PDF file for this paper can be found at:

http://www.uoregon.edu/~gregr/Papers/PTAntarctica.pdf

Yours,

Paul