Darren, suspend judgement and keep an open mind.
Wait for the whole story. It may take a whole lifetime.
Jerry Flaherty
----- Original Message -----
From: "Darren Garrison" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, July 02, 2008 4:47 PM
Subject: [meteorite-list] Exploding asteroid theory strengthened by
newevidence located in Ohio, Indiana
Okay, I'm not entirely clear just what this story is trying to say. But
it
seems to be claiming that gold silver, and diamonds are found in Ohio and
Indiana that are debris blasted there by a late-ice age meteorite strike
in
Canada. Which makes no sense whatsoever, given that there is no recent
massive-freaking crater in Canada that could account for the vast amounts
of
impactites this would imply.
http://www.physorg.com/news134233301.html
Geological evidence found in Ohio and Indiana in recent weeks is
strengthening
the case to attribute what happened 12,900 years ago in North America --
when
the end of the last Ice Age unexpectedly turned into a phase of extinction
for
animals and humans -- to a cataclysmic comet or asteroid explosion over
top of
Canada.
A comet/asteroid theory advanced by Arizona-based geophysicist Allen West
in the
past two years says that an object from space exploded just above the
earth's
surface at that time over modern-day Canada, sparking a massive shock wave
and
heat-generating event that set large parts of the northern hemisphere
ablaze,
setting the stage for the extinctions.
Now University of Cincinnati Assistant Professor of Anthropology Ken
Tankersley,
working in conjunction with West and Indiana Geological Society Research
Scientist Nelson R. Schaffer, has verified evidence from sites in Ohio and
Indiana -- including, locally, Hamilton and Clermont counties in Ohio and
Brown
County in Indiana -- that offers the strongest support yet for the
exploding
comet/asteroid theory.
Samples of diamonds, gold and silver that have been found in the region
have
been conclusively sourced through X-ray diffractometry in the lab of UC
Professor of Geology Warren Huff back to the diamond fields region of
Canada.
The only plausible scenario available now for explaining their presence
this far
south is the kind of cataclysmic explosive event described by West's
theory. "We
believe this is the strongest evidence yet indicating a comet impact in
that
time period," says Tankersley.
Ironically, Tankersley had gone into the field with West believing he
might be
able to disprove West's theory.
Tankersley was familiar through years of work in this area with the
diamonds,
gold and silver deposits, which at one point could be found in such
abundance in
this region that the Hopewell Indians who lived here about 2,000 years ago
engaged in trade in these items.
Prevailing thought said that these deposits, which are found at a soil
depth
consistent with the time frame of the comet/asteroid event, had been
brought
south from the Great Lakes region by glaciers.
"My smoking gun to disprove (West) was going to be the gold, silver and
diamonds," Tankersley says. "But what I didn't know at that point was a
conclusion he had reached that he had not yet made public -- that the
likely
point of impact for the comet wasn't just anywhere over Canada, but
located over
Canada's diamond-bearing fields. Instead of becoming the basis for
rejecting his
hypothesis, these items became the very best evidence to support it."
Additional sourcing work is being done at the sites looking for iridium,
micro-meteorites and nano-diamonds that bear the markers of the
diamond-field
region, which also should have been blasted by the impact into this
region.
Much of the work is being done in Sheriden Cave in north-central Ohio's
Wyandot
County, a rich repository of material dating back to the Ice Age.
Tankersley first came into contact with West and Schaffer when they were
invited
guests for interdisciplinary colloquia presented by UC's Department of
Geology
this spring.
West presented on his theory that a large comet or asteroid, believed to
be more
than a mile in diameter, exploded just above the earth at a time when the
last
Ice Age appeared to be drawing to a close.
The timing attached to this theory of about 12,900 years ago is consistent
with
the known disappearances in North America of the wooly mammoth population
and
the first distinct human society to inhabit the continent, known as the
Clovis
civilization. At that time, climatic history suggests the Ice Age should
have
been drawing to a close, but a rapid change known as the Younger Dryas
event,
instead ushered in another 1,300 years of glacial conditions. A
cataclysmic
explosion consistent with West's theory would have the potential to create
the
kind of atmospheric turmoil necessary to produce such conditions.
"The kind of evidence we are finding does suggest that climate change at
the end
of the last Ice Age was the result of a catastrophic event," Tankersley
says.
Currently, Tankersley can be seen in a new documentary airing on the
National
Geographic channel. The film "Ancient Asteroids" is part of that network's
"Naked Science" series.
The new discoveries made working with West and Schaffer will be
incorporated
into two more specials that Tankersley is currently involved with -- one
for the
PBS series "Nova" and a second for the History Channel that will be
filming
Tankersley and his UC students in the field this summer. Another
documentary,
this one being produced by the Discovery Channel and the British public
television network Channel 4, will also be following Tankersley and his
students
later this summer.
As more data continues to be compiled, Tankersley, West and Schaffer will
be
publishing about this newest twist in the search to explain the history of
our
planet and its climate.
Climate change is a favorite topic for Tankersley. "The ultimate
importance of
this kind of work is showing that we can't control everything," he says.
"Our
planet has been hit by asteroids many times throughout its history, and
when
that happens, it does produce climate change."
Source: University of Cincinnati
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