[meteorite-list] Exploding Asteroid Theory Strengthened by New Evidence Located in Ohio, Indiana

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sat, 5 Jul 2008 21:38:43 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <200807060438.VAA11243_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

Office of Public Relations
University of Cincinnati
Cincinnati, Ohio

Contact: Carey Hoffman
Phone: (513) 556-1825

7/2/2008

Exploding Asteroid Theory Strengthened by New Evidence Located in Ohio,
Indiana

Was the course of life on the planet altered 12,900 years ago by a giant
comet exploding over Canada? New evidence found by UC Assistant Professor of
Anthropology Ken Tankersley and colleagues suggests the answer is
affirmative.

By Carey Hoffman

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 Allen 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 "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."
Received on Sun 06 Jul 2008 12:38:43 AM PDT