A Blind Test of the Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis

A Blind Test of the Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis

Holliday V, Surovell T, Johnson E (2016) A Blind Test of the
Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis. PLoS ONE 11(7): e0155470.
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0155470
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0155470
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27391147

An earlier paper is;

Holliday, V. T., T. A. Surovell, D. J. Meltzer, D. K. Grayson, and
M. Boslough, 2014, The Younger Dryas impact hypothesis: A
cosmic catastrophe. Journal of Quaternary Science 29:515-530.
http://www.uwyo.edu/surovell/pdfs/jqs%202014.pdf
http://www.uwyo.edu/surovell/

and "A Cosmic Catastrophe: the Great Clovis comet Debate" at
http://www.argonaut.arizona.edu/Clovis_Comet_Debate.html

Yours,

Paul H.

Help discover supernovae from Pan-STARRS1

Help discover supernovae from Pan-STARRS1

Hi,

There is a new crowd source research project about searching
for supernovae. It is "Supernova Hunters" at
https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/dwright04/supernova-hunters .

This project is part of Zooniverse at https://www.zooniverse.org .

"The Zooniverse provides opportunities for people around
the world to contribute to real discoveries in fields ranging
from astronomy to zoology. Welcome to the largest online
platform for collaborative volunteer research."

Yours,

Paul H.

2016 The THIRD Year of "CERTAIN Uncertainty" ™ / Meteors, Asteroids, Comets, and MORE!!

Evidence of Quaternary Supernova Buffeting Earth

Evidence of Quaternary Supernova Buffeting Earth

Ancient supernovae buffeted Earth's biology with
radiation dose, researcher says, July 11, 2016
https://today.ku.edu/2016/07/06/research-ancient-supernovae-were-close-enough-buffet-biology-earth-radiation-dose
http://phys.org/news/2016-07-ancient-supernovae-buffeted-earth-biology.html
http://www.space.com/32631-radioactive-iron-supernova-apollo-moon-rocks.html

Fimiani, L., D. L. Cook, T. Faestermann, J. M.
Gómez-Guzmán, K. Hain, G. Herzog, K. Knie,
G. Korschinek, P. Ludwig, J. Park, R. C. Reedy,
and G. Rugel, 2016, Interstellar Fe60 on the
Surface of the Moon. Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 151104
http://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.151104

Yours,

Paul H

Lush Venus? Searing Earth? It could have happened

Lush Venus? Searing Earth? It could have happened

Lush Venus? Searing Earth? It could have happened Rice University, Houston, Texas, July 5, 2016
http://news.rice.edu/2016/07/05/lush-venus-searing-earth-it-could-have-happened/
http://phys.org/news/2016-07-lush-venus-searing-earth.html

The paper is:
Lenardic A., Crowley, J.W., Jellinek, A.M., and Weller, M. 2016, The Solar System of Forking Paths: Bifurcations in Planetary Evolution and the Search for Life-Bearing Planets in Our Galaxy. Astrobiology. vol. 16, no. 7, pp. 551-559..
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303811032_The_Solar_System_of_Forking_Paths_Bifurcations_in_Planetary_Evolution_and_the_Search_for_Life-Bearing_Planets_in_Our_Galaxy
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303811032
http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/ast.2015.1378?journalCode=ast

Yours,

Paul H.

Talks About the Co-Evolution of the Geosphere and the Biosphere - Robert Hazen

Talks About the Co-Evolution of the Geosphere and the Biosphere - Robert Hazen

Talk that touch on the mineralogy of meteorites, Earth, and other planets.

1. Mineralogical Co-Evolution of the Geo- and Biospheres
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcktDStIfiQ

"Dr. Robert Hazen, George Mason University, talks about the evolution of minerals on Earth, and other planets."

2. Robert Hazen -- The Co-Evolution of the Geosphere and the Biosphere, Linus Pauling
Memorial Lectures, February 15th, 2013
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D89-05ZKh2Y

Yours,
Paul H.

Talks About the Co-Evolution of the Geosphere and the Biosphere - Robert Hazen

Talks About the Co-Evolution of the Geosphere and the Biosphere - Robert Hazen

Talk that touch on the mineralogy of meteorites, Earth, and other planets.

1. Mineralogical Co-Evolution of the Geo- and Biospheres
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcktDStIfiQ

"Dr. Robert Hazen, George Mason University, talks about the evolution of minerals on Earth, and other planets."

2. Robert Hazen -- The Co-Evolution of the Geosphere and the Biosphere, Linus Pauling
Memorial Lectures, February 15th, 2013
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D89-05ZKh2Y

Yours,
Paul H.

Giant Impact May Have Created Mars’ Tiny Moons

Giant Impact May Have Created Mars’ Tiny Moons

How a missing moon could explain Mars's mysterious little satellites Scientists have long been puzzled by Mars's strange little moons, Phobos and Deimos. But perhaps a long-gone moon could help unravel the mystery, suggests new research by Eva Botkin-Kowacki, Christian Science Monitor, July 4,2016
http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2016/0704/How-a-missing-moon-could-explain-Mars-s-mysterious-little-satellites

A giant impact may have created Mars’ tiny moons by Katherine Lindemann, researchgate, July 4, 2016
https://www.researchgate.net/blog/post/a-giant-impact-may-have-created-mars-tiny-moons

Rosenblatt, P., S. Charnoz, K. M. Dunseath, M. Terao-Dunseath, A. Trinh, R. Hyodo, H. Genda, and S. Toupin, 2016, Accretion of Phobos and Deimos in an extended debris disc stirred by transient
moons Nature Geoscience (2016) doi:10.1038/ngeo2742 Received 18 January 2016 Accepted 18 May 2016
http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ngeo2742.html

I wonder if pieces of debris from this collision could have been sent towards Earth?

Yours,

Paul H.

Volcanoes and Asteroid Impact Linked to K-Pg Mass Extinction ??

Volcanoes and Asteroid Impact Linked to K-Pg Mass Extinction ??

Warming pulses in ancient climate record link volcanoes,
asteroid impact and dinosaur-killing mass extinction,
University of Michigan, July 5, 2016
http://phys.org/news/2016-07-pulses-ancient-climate-link-volcanoes.html
http://ns.umich.edu/new/releases/24010-warming-pulses-in-ancient-climate-record-link-volcanoes-asteroid-impact-and-dinosaur-killing-mass-extinction

The open-access paper is:

Petersen, S. V., A. Dutton, and K. C. Lohmann, 2016, End-
Cretaceous extinction in Antarctica linked to both Deccan
volcanism and meteorite impact via climate change. Nature
Communications 7, Article number: 12079 doi:10.1038/ncomms12079
Received 31 December 2015 Accepted 27 May 2016 Published 05 July 2016
http://phys.org/journals/nature-communications/

A related open-access paper is:

Witts, J. D., R. J. Whittle, P. B. Wignall, J. A. Crame, J. E. Francis,
R. J. Newton, and V, C. Bowman, 2016, Macrofossil evidence
for a rapid and severe Cretaceous–Paleogene mass extinction
in Antarctica. Nature Communications 7, Article number: 11738
doi:10.1038/ncomms11738 Received 17 August 2015
Accepted 26 April 2016 Published 26 May 2016
http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2016/160526/ncomms11738/full/ncomms11738.html

Yours,

Paul

The “Great Expectations Syndrome” and Mass Extinctions

The “Great Expectations Syndrome” and Mass Extinctions

Below is an interesting open-access paper about mass extinctions.

Racki, G., 2012, The Alvarez impact theory of mass extinction; limits to its applicability and the “great expectations syndrome”.
Acta Palaeuntulugica Polonica. vol. 57, no. 4, pp. 681–702.
Abstract: http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.4202/app.2011.0058
PDF file: http://www.bioone.org/doi/pdf/10.4202/app.2011.0058

Yours,

Paul H.

New Publications About Younger Dryas Black Mats

New Publications About Younger Dryas Black Mats

Below are a couple of publications that add more background information relative to the with the Younger Dryas Impact controversy.

Erin Harris-Parks, 2016, The micromorphology of
Younger Dryas-aged black mats from Nevada,
Arizona, Texas and New Mexico. Quaternary
Research. vol. 85, no. 1, pp. 94–106.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0033589415001131
http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016QuRes..85...94H

Erin Harris-Parks, 2014, The micromorphology of
Younger Dryas-aged black mats from Nevada,
Arizona, Texas and New Mexico. Unpublished MS
thesis, Department of Geosciences, Univ. of Arizona
http://www.geo.arizona.edu/Antevs/geos_ths.html
http://www.geo.arizona.edu/Antevs/Theses/HarrisParks2014.pdf

Yours,

Paul H.

Opal Discovered in Antarctic Meteorite

Opal Discovered in Antarctic Meteorite

Opal-Studded Meteorite Hints at Origins of Earth's Water
By Nola Taylor Redd, Space.com, June 27, 2016
http://www.space.com/33276-opal-pieces-found-in-antarctica-meteorite.html

New Meteorite Offers Clues About the Origins of Life on
Earth By Sophie Kleeman, Gizmodo, June 7, 2016
http://gizmodo.com/this-opal-studded-meteorite-offers-clues-about-the-orig-1782682303

Opal discovered in Antarctic meteorite
Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), June 27, 2016
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/06/160627095939.htm
https://www.ras.org.uk/news-and-press/2873-opal-discovered-in-antarctic-meteorite
https://nam2016.org/press-releases/84-opal-discovered-in-antarctic-meteorite-ras-pr-16-31-nam-5-embargoed

Oxygen Isotopes and Origin of Opal in an Antarctic Ureilite
by Downes H. Beard A. D. Franchi I. A. Greenwood R. C.
79th Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society (2016) [#6141]
http://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/metsoc2016/pdf/6141.pdf
http://karmaka.de/?p=9173

Yours,

Paul H.

Dinosaur Eggs, Meteorites, Or Signs of an Ancient Civilisation?

Dinosaur Eggs, Meteorites, Or Signs of an Ancient Civilisation?

It is strange that whoever wrote the headline even considered that these concretions might be either
meteorites or dinosaur eggs. I guess those were added simply to get people to read the article.

Dinosaur eggs, meteorites, signs of an ancient civilisation:what are these giant balls? By Ann Liesowska, Siberian times Found 30 metres underground at a coal mine, they're dubbed 'Jurassic pearls' or the marbles of a Siberian colossus.
http://siberiantimes.com/other/others/features/f0237-dinosaur-eggs-meteorites-signs-of-an-ancient-civilisation-what-are-these-giant-balls/

Siberia's 'Jurassic Pearls' Sign of Ancient Civilization; Giant Balls Stun Locals by Jessica F, Nature world News,
http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/24329/20160628/siberias-jurassic-pearls-sign-of-ancient-civilization-giant-balls-stun-locals.htm

Are Siberia's 'Jurassic Pearls' the remains of an ancient civilisation? Bizarre colour-changing stones leave locals stumped by Will Stewart, Daily Mail, June 27, 2016
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3662007/Are-Siberia-s-Jurassic-Pearls-remains-ancient-civilisation-Bizarre-colour-changing-stones-leave-locals-stumped.html

For some pseudo-eggs, look at:
Dinosaur eggs' discovered in Chechnya (Photos, Video)
RT News, https://www.rt.com/news/chechnya-dinosaur-eggs-russia-333/

Huge Dinosaur Eggs Found in Chechnya, Scientists Claim
April 17, 2012 By Lama Hasan
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/04/huge-dinosaur-eggs-found-in-chechnyascientists-claim/

Other web pages about meter-scale concretions.

1. Prehistoric UFOs? (No, Meter-scale Concretions)
Hall of Ma'at - http://www.hallofmaat.com/read.php?1,604622,604622#msg-604622

2. Archaeologist claims boulder is the world's oldest man-made sphere, Hall of Ma'at
http://www.hallofmaat.com/read.php?1,604086,604154#msg-604154

Yours,

Paul H.

Researchers Trace Mercury's Origins to Rare Meteorite

Researchers Trace Mercury's Origins to Rare Meteorite

Researchers trace Mercury's origins to rare meteorite
by: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, June 27, 2016
http://phys.org/news/2016-06-mercury-rare-meteorite.html
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/06/160627132939.htm

the paper is:

Namur, O., M. Collinet, B. Charlier, T. L. Grove, F. Holtz,
and C. McCammon, 2016, Melting processes and mantle
sources of lavas on Mercury. Earth and Planetary Science
Letters. vol. 439, pp. 117–128
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012821X16000522
and https://goo.gl/E0BYUa

Yours,

Paul H.

Lunar Lava Tubes Could Protect Astronauts

Lunar Lava Tubes Could Protect Astronauts

Lunar Shelter: Moon Caves Could Protect Astronauts
By Nola Taylor Redd, Space.com
http://www.space.com/32795-moon-lava-tubes-protect-astronauts.html

Scientists May Have Spotted Buried Lava Tubes on
the Moon by Nadia Drake , No Place Like Home (Blog)
http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2016/03/25/scientists-may-have-spotted-buried-lava-tubes-on-the-moon/

Marius Hills Pit - Lava Tube Skylight?
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera
NAC M114328462R [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University]
http://lroc.sese.asu.edu/posts/202

The Marius Hills pit is a possible skylight in a lava
tube in an ancient volcanic region of the Moon called
the Marius Hills. This LROC image is the highest
resolution image of the pit to date. Image width is
500 meters, pixel width is 0.5 meters,
NAC M114328462R [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University]
http://lroc.sese.asu.edu/news/uploads/LROCiotw/M114328462R_thumb.png

Theoretical study suggests huge lava tubes could exist
on moon, University of Perdue,
http://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2015/Q1/theoretical-study-suggests-huge-lava-tubes-could-exist-on-moon.html

Yours,

Paul H.

Tridymite Discovered On Mars

Tridymite Discovered On Mars

NASA scientists discover unexpected mineral on Mars
NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory, June 22, 2016
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/06/160622170422.htm

http://phys.org/news/2016-06-curiosity-rover-evidence-ancient-explosive.html


Richard V. Morris, David T. Vaniman, David F. Blake, Ralf  Gellert, Steve J. Chipera, Elizabeth B. Rampe, Douglas W. Ming, Shaunna M. Morrison, Robert T. Downs, Allan H.
Treiman, Albert S. Yen, John P. Grotzinger, Cherie N.Achilles, Thomas F. Bristow, Joy A. Crisp, David J. Des Marais, Jack D. Farmer, Kim V. Fendrich, Jens Frydenvang, Trevor G. Graff, John-Michael Morookian, Edward M.Stolper, Susanne P. Schwenzer. 

Silicic volcanism on Mars evidenced by tridymite in high-SiO2 sedimentary rock at Gale crater.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2016; 201607098 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1607098113
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2016/06/07/1607098113

yours,
Paul H.

Late Pleistocene Patagonian Megafaunal Extinctions

Late Pleistocene Patagonian Megafaunal Extinctions

Megafauna mystery: What killed off the mastodons,
mammoths, and giant sloths? An Ice Age whodunit:
Scientists are gathering clues about what caused a
die off in giant prehistoric critters.
By Eva Botkin-Kowacki, June 17, 2016
http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2016/0617/Megafauna-mystery-What-killed-off-the-mastodons-mammoths-and-giant-sloths

Rising temperatures and humans were a deadly
combo for ancient South American megafauna
by Lizzie Wade, Science Magazine, June 17, 2016
http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/06/rising-temperatures-and-humans-were-deadly-combo-ancient-south-american-megafauna

The paper is:

Metcalf, J. L., C. Turney, and many others, 2016,
Synergistic roles of climate warming and human
occupation in Patagonian megafaunal extinctions
during the Last Deglaciation. Science Advances
17 Jun 2016: Vol. 2, no. 6, e1501682
http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/2/6/e1501682
http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/advances/2/6/e1501682.full.pdf

Another paper is:

Barnosky, A. D., P.L. Koch, R. S. Feranec, S. L. Wing,
and A. B. Shabel. 2004. Assessing the Causes of Late
Pleistocene Extinctions on the Continents.
Science. V. 306, pp. 70-75. https://goo.gl/kIEEnV

More papers at http://ib.berkeley.edu/labs/barnosky/publications.html

Yours,

Paul H.

New Elements Named - Nihonium, Moscovium, Tennessine and Oganesson

New Elements Named - Nihonium, Moscovium, Tennessine and Oganesson

Four new element names proposed for periodic table
Welcome Nihonium, Moscovium, Tennessine and Oganesson.
By Richard Van Noorden, Nature News, June 8, 2016
http://www.nature.com/news/four-new-element-names-proposed-for-periodic-table-1.20069

New elements on the periodic table are named
By Ashley Strickland, CNN, June 9, 2016
http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/08/health/periodic-table-new-elements-names/

Discovery of Elements 113 and 115
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
https://pls.llnl.gov/research-and-development/nuclear-science/project-highlights/livermorium/elements-113-and-115

Yours,

Paul H.

France Launches Meteor-spotting Network

France Launches Meteor-spotting Network

France launches massive meteor-spotting network: Tracking space
rocks that reach Earth will give insight into the early Solar System.
by Traci Watson, Nature news, June 10, 2016,
http://www.nature.com/news/france-launches-massive-meteor-spotting-network-1.20070

Yours,

Paul H.

The Dunning–Kruger Effect

The Dunning–Kruger Effect

The Dunning–Kruger effect is sometimes encountered
in discussing meteorites on this list.

Dunning–Kruger effect
https://goo.gl/J3fcrz and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning–Kruger_effect

Dunning, D., K. Johnson, J. Ehrlinger and J. Kruger,
2003, Why People Fail to Recognize Their Own
Incompetence. Current Directions in Psychological
Science. vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 83-87.
http://cdp.sagepub.com/content/12/3/83.abstract
and https://goo.gl/BEffpS

Kruger, J., and D. Dunning, 1999, Unskilled and
unaware of it: how difficulties in recognizing
one's own incompetence lead to inflated self-
assessments. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology vol. 77, no.6, pp. 1121-1134.
https://goo.gl/YWxCIU and https://goo.gl/sJMp8a

Yours,
Paul H

Rapid and Severe Cretaceous–Paleogene Extinction in Antarctic

Rapid and Severe Cretaceous–Paleogene Extinction in Antarctic

How the event that killed off the dinosaurs wiped out
life in Antarctica, The Conversation, June 2, 2016
http://theconversation.com/how-the-event-that-killed-off-the-dinosaurs-wiped-out-life-in-antarctica-60265?

Fossils Suggest Antarctic Creatures Were Affected By
Dinosaur-Killing Extinction Event. Contrary to previous
beliefs, a new study suggests that Antarctic creatures
weren't safe from the dinosaur-killing extinction
event at the end of the Cretaceous Period
Headlines & Global News-May 31, 2016
http://www.hngn.com/articles/199935/20160531/fossils-suggest-antarctic-creatures-were-affected-dinosaur-killing-extinction-event.htm

Fossils Suggest Antarctic Creatures Were Affected By
Dinosaur-Killing Extinction Event. University of Leeds.
http://www.sci-news.com/paleontology/south-polar-regions-end-cretaceous-extinction-03898.html
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/05/160526091956.htm

Witts, J. D., R. J. Whittle, P. B. Wignall, J. A. Crame,
J. E. Francis, R. J. Newton, and V. C. Bowman, 2016,
Macrofossil evidence for a rapid and severe
Cretaceous–Paleogene mass extinction in Antarctica.
Nature Communications. Vol. 7, Article number: 11738
doi:10.1038/ncomms11738
http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2016/160526/ncomms11738/full/ncomms11738.html

PDF file at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/301658453_Macrofossil_evidence_for_a_rapid_and_severe_Cretaceous-Paleogene_mass_extinction_in_Antarctica

Yours,

Paul H.