Holocene Impact Working Group
Encyclopedia
The Holocene Impact Working Group is a group of scientists from Australia
, France
, Ireland
, Russia
and the USA who hypothesize that meteorite impacts on Earth are more common than previously supposed.
The group posits one large impact (equivalent to a 10-megaton bomb) every 1,000 years. This estimate is based on evidence of five to ten large impact events in the last 10,000 years. Satellite observations suggest the presence of many recent impact craters and landforms such as chevrons
which are thought to have been caused by megatsunamis. The chevrons often point in the direction of specific hypothesized impact craters, the supposition being that the chevrons were deposited by tsunamis originating from the impacts which formed those proposed craters. Study of chevrons however shows they are not consistent with the tsunami hypothesis.
A prime example the group cites is the impact event
named Burckle crater
which the group claims is located off the coasts of Australia and Madagascar. This seminal event is both recent and relatively large in the Earth's geologic time scale. As one of the cited events, the group indicates much more frequent impact events contrary to other research group frequency analysis results. If such a frequency proves out, then large impacts may show that efforts of the B612 Foundation
become apparently critical considering known history of Tunguska event
and others less clearly determined sizable enough to damage civilization
.
The group states that their hypothesis is likely to be controversial: "I wouldn't expect 99.9 per cent of (the scientific community) to agree with us" Their work is controversial because it contradicts much of what is understood about impacts and tsunamis.
Group Members:
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and the USA who hypothesize that meteorite impacts on Earth are more common than previously supposed.
The group posits one large impact (equivalent to a 10-megaton bomb) every 1,000 years. This estimate is based on evidence of five to ten large impact events in the last 10,000 years. Satellite observations suggest the presence of many recent impact craters and landforms such as chevrons
Chevron (land form)
A chevron is a wedge-shaped sediment deposit observed on coastlines and continental interiors around the world. The term chevron was originally used independently by Maxwell and Haynes and Hearty and others for large, v-shaped, sub-linear to parabolic landforms in southwestern Egypt and on islands...
which are thought to have been caused by megatsunamis. The chevrons often point in the direction of specific hypothesized impact craters, the supposition being that the chevrons were deposited by tsunamis originating from the impacts which formed those proposed craters. Study of chevrons however shows they are not consistent with the tsunami hypothesis.
A prime example the group cites is the impact event
Impact event
An impact event is the collision of a large meteorite, asteroid, comet, or other celestial object with the Earth or another planet. Throughout recorded history, hundreds of minor impact events have been reported, with some occurrences causing deaths, injuries, property damage or other significant...
named Burckle crater
Burckle Crater
Burckle Crater is a hypothesized undersea crater that has been proposed by the Holocene Impact Working Group. They considered that it likely was formed by a very large scale and relatively recent comet or meteorite impact event...
which the group claims is located off the coasts of Australia and Madagascar. This seminal event is both recent and relatively large in the Earth's geologic time scale. As one of the cited events, the group indicates much more frequent impact events contrary to other research group frequency analysis results. If such a frequency proves out, then large impacts may show that efforts of the B612 Foundation
B612 Foundation
The B612 Foundation is a private foundation dedicated to protecting the Earth from asteroid strikes. Their immediate goal is to "significantly alter the orbit of an asteroid in a controlled manner by 2015"....
become apparently critical considering known history of Tunguska event
Tunguska event
The Tunguska event, or Tunguska blast or Tunguska explosion, was an enormously powerful explosion that occurred near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in what is now Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, at about 7:14 a.m...
and others less clearly determined sizable enough to damage civilization
Civilization
Civilization is a sometimes controversial term that has been used in several related ways. Primarily, the term has been used to refer to the material and instrumental side of human cultures that are complex in terms of technology, science, and division of labor. Such civilizations are generally...
.
The group states that their hypothesis is likely to be controversial: "I wouldn't expect 99.9 per cent of (the scientific community) to agree with us" Their work is controversial because it contradicts much of what is understood about impacts and tsunamis.
Group Members:
- Associate Professor Ted Bryant, geomorphologist, Wollongong University, AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
- Dallas AbbottDallas AbbottDallas Abbott is a research scientist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University and is part of the Holocene Impact Working Group. The primary focus of her present research is on submarine impact craters and their contribution to climate change and megatsunamis...
, research scientist, Lamont-Doherty Earth ObservatoryLamont-Doherty Earth ObservatoryThe Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory is a research unit of Columbia University located on a campus in Palisades, N.Y., north of Manhattan on the Hudson River.- History :...
, New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east... - Slava Gusiakov, Novosibirsk Tsunami Laboratory, RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
- Marie-Agnès CourtyMarie-Agnès CourtyMarie-Agnès Courty is a French geologist of the CNRS who works at the European Centre for Prehistoric Research, in Tautavel ....
, soil scientist, European Center for Prehistoric Research, TautavelTautavelTautavel is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.Home of CERP - The European Centre for Prehistoric Research.Nearby is the 'Caune de l'Arago' a cave in which some of the oldest human remains in Europe have been found....
, FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... - Dee Breger, director of microscopy, Drexel UniversityDrexel UniversityDrexel University is a private research university with the main campus located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. It was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a noted financier and philanthropist. Drexel offers 70 full-time undergraduate programs and accelerated degrees...
, Philadelphia - Bruce Masse, environmental archaeologist, Los Alamos National LaboratoryLos Alamos National LaboratoryLos Alamos National Laboratory is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory, managed and operated by Los Alamos National Security , located in Los Alamos, New Mexico...
, New MexicoNew MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
See also
- B612 FoundationB612 FoundationThe B612 Foundation is a private foundation dedicated to protecting the Earth from asteroid strikes. Their immediate goal is to "significantly alter the orbit of an asteroid in a controlled manner by 2015"....
- Burckle craterBurckle CraterBurckle Crater is a hypothesized undersea crater that has been proposed by the Holocene Impact Working Group. They considered that it likely was formed by a very large scale and relatively recent comet or meteorite impact event...
- Mahuika craterMahuika craterMahuika crater is a proposed submarine bolide impact crater, 20 ± 2 km wide and over 153 m deep, on the New Zealand continental shelf named after the Māori god of fire. It was discovered by Dallas Abbott and her colleagues from the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of the Columbia University.Around...
- Impact eventImpact eventAn impact event is the collision of a large meteorite, asteroid, comet, or other celestial object with the Earth or another planet. Throughout recorded history, hundreds of minor impact events have been reported, with some occurrences causing deaths, injuries, property damage or other significant...
- HoloceneHoloceneThe Holocene is a geological epoch which began at the end of the Pleistocene and continues to the present. The Holocene is part of the Quaternary period. Its name comes from the Greek words and , meaning "entirely recent"...
- Tunguska eventTunguska eventThe Tunguska event, or Tunguska blast or Tunguska explosion, was an enormously powerful explosion that occurred near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in what is now Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, at about 7:14 a.m...
External links
- Meteor 'misfits' find proof in sea Impacts more recent and often, researchers say
- Impact Craters as Sources of Megatsunami Generated Chevron Dunes
- Transcript of ABC interview with Ted Bryant
- New York Times "Ancient Crash, Epic Wave" (11.14.06) - Requires login/account
- Chevron-shaped Accumulations Along the Coastlines of Australia as Potential Tsunami Evidences? Science of Tsunami Hazards (2003), Vol. 21, #3, p 174.
- The Holocene Tüttensee meteorite impact crater in southeast Germany
- Pinter, N., and S.E. Ishman, 2008, Impacts, mega-tsunami, and other extraordinary claims PDF version, 304 KB. GSA Today. vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 37–38.