Is the Black Mat Evidence for a comet impact 12,800 years ago

7/24/2019 Is the Black Mat Evidence for a comet impact 12,800 years ago

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Did an extra-terrestrial impact event 12,900 years ago kill and chill the

frst inhabitants o North merica!

"he p#rpose o this essay $ill be to investigate the provenance o the so

called %black mat& '()* frst identifed by +ayes '199* it is a stratigraphic

layer o carboniero#s material $hich it is alleged a marker or an extra-

terrestrial impact event over North merica, and is in evidence at $hat is

no$ called the o#nger Dryas bo#ndary 'D(* 'fg a*.

"he layer is p#rported to lay #nder soil s#bstrata on three continents and

has been dated, at 12,/00 10 calendar years beore present 'cal (*.

"his date is also contemporaneo#s $ith an event kno$n as the o#nger

Dryas event 'D* a period o intense cooling o the arth $hich it is

alleged $as responsible or the demise o the frst inhabitants o North

merica called 3lovis c#lt#re and it is also alleged started a mega a#na

extinction event.

4irestone et al '2005*, +ayes '200/* and 6ennet et al'200/* claim that

the () 'fg b* is evidence or an asteroid or meteor strike on the North

merican continent, covered at the time $ith the 2 mile thick 7a#rentide

ice sheet and this impact ca#sed the collapse o the ice sheet and also

generated mass $ildfres and biomass b#rnings over the areas o

continent not covered in ice and that this b#rning prod#ced the () layer.


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"he () is in evidence at 0 kno$n 3lovis sites8 3lovis $ere a proto-ndian

c#lt#re kno$n to have habit#ated a great deal o the North merican

continent and is also evident at 1 3arolina bays sites, 4ig 'c* in the state

o North and :o#th 3arolina and is also evident at sites in Nebraska 'N*,

6ansas '6:* Ne$ )exico 'N)* "exas '";* cm.

"his paper $ill disc#ss in detail three main areas o en?#iry o the () and

its relationship to the thesis that it is evidence or an extra-terrestrial

impact event '"*, over the then 7a#rentide ce sheet. "his theory is

challenged by "ian, :chryvers and 3laeys, '2010*, van +oesel et al.,

'2012* and +olliday et al'2010* $ho claim that geomorphic indicators

#sed are @a$ed and that the lack o impact crater signifcantly decreases

the likelihood o an alleged " impact.

4irstly, the essay $ill disc#ss the extent o the () and look at the

evidence or and against it being a s#ggested as a %marker& or D, it $ill

look at the str#ct#re o it and the chemical composition and disc#ss other

events that may have been responsible or it being in evidence. t $ill

contin#e by disc#ssing carbon 4#llerenes, noble gases, magnet grains and

glass like carbon and disc#ss them as markers or the event. 4inally, it $ill

disc#ss the existence o Nano diamonds 'NDs* or impact diamonds in the


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() and their physical composition and ho$ they may or may not be

attrib#ted to an " event. "his paper $ill concl#de $ith a s#mmation o

the evidences and s#ggest #rther areas o en?#iry and st#dy o the

s#bAect matter.

"he discovery o the () in the soil strata at 3lovis sites previo#sly

mentioned and frst evidenced by +aynes '19/5* has led to several

theories as to its occ#rrence. t is kno$n at sites $orld$ide, incl#ding

North merica, )exico and (elgi#m. 4ollo$ing on rom this discovery it

has been s#ggested by 4irestone et al'2005*, +aynes '200/* and 6ennet

et al'200/* that this is the res#lt o an " impact .

t is #rther claimed that it is composed o a variety o chemical and

geological indicators, these areB 'i* magnetic grains , 'fg d* 'ii* magnetic

micro spher#les, 'iii* charcoal, 'iv* soot, 'v*carbon spher#les, 'vi* glasslike

carbon containing Nano diamonds 'NDs* and 'vii* 4#llerenes $ith "

+eli#m '>+e* and markers rom the latin#m gro#p incl#ding8 Csmi#m

'Cs* ridi#m 'r* amongst others and that these markers are the evidence

or an " impact.

"his being, that $hen the impactor entered arth&s atmosphere over the

7a#rentide ce sheet '4ig e* the bo$ $ave in ront o it created a fre storm

$hich s$ept North merica b#rning everything in its path and laid do$n


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the () $hich is evidenced at 0 kno$n 3lovis sites in North merica and

#p to 1 3arolina (ay sites in the :o#th Eestern Fnites states. "he #ll

extent o D( can be seen in an area in excess o 0 million s?#are

kilometres and covers all o North merica and a large extent o #rope

and p#shes do$n into :yria and "#rkey. +o$ever, +olliday et al'2010*

challenge this claim s#ggesting instead large scale $ildfres as evidence

or the (), a normal eGect ?#ite common in $ooded areas at this time.

"his hypothesis seems #nlikely as it $o#ld re?#ire the $hole o the D(

area to have been b#rning at the same time.

s disc#ssed it is composed o black carbon rich discrete layer $ith

varying peak ab#ndances o 'i* magnetic grains , 'ii* magnetic micro

spher#les, 'iii* charcoal, 'iv* soot, 'v*carbon spher#les, 'vi* glasslike

carbon containing Nano diamonds, and 'vii* 4#llerenes $ith " +eli#m, all

o $hich have been s#ggested '4irestone et al 2005* as markers or an "

impact. t sho#ld be noted that it is also claimed that 3lovis assemblages,

tools, bones etc, have been o#nd in and #nder the () b#t not on top

s#ggesting that it is an indicator or the demise o 3lovis c#lt#re. t is

#rther claimed that $hilst soot and charcoal can be attrib#ted to $ildfre

b#rnings, magnetic grains and micro spher#les are indicative o asteroid

or meteor impact as are carbon spher#les and glass spher#les, these

being ormed #nder intense heat ater s#ch an impact. +o$ever, since no

impact crater or craters have been directly identifed at present and

attrib#ted directly to this proposed event it remains highly spec#lative.


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"he s#ggestion as previo#sly stated, is that a comet or comets entered

arth&s atmosphere and broke #p creating an intense frestorm b#t leaving

no craters '4irestone et al., 2005*. "his is challenged by (oslo#gh et al.,

'2012* beca#se o the lack o a physics model to s#pport this hypothesis.

+o$ever, it sho#ld be noted that a smaller version o this exact event $as

recorded above "#ng#ska, H#ssia in 190/. comet or asteroid exploded

over this area and levelled 2,000 s?#are kilometres 'an area the siIe o

"enerie* o orest and let no impact crater.

http://astrogeo.oxfordjournals.org/content/50/1/1.18.short

4irestone et als '2005* arg#ment is thereore centred on the provenance

o the (). C note are the magnetic elements o the mat and carbon

spher#les or 4#llerenes and NDs. "hey claim these are the primary

indicators or an " impact, as it appears that they can only be ormed or

indeed delivered #nder the intense heat and press#re o s#ch and impact.

t is kno$n that meteorites and asteroids contain magnetic compo#nds

and also deliver extra +eli#m in the spher#les rom the cosmic

environment, all o $hich are in evidence.


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t #rther appears that sabel srade-lcKntaraa et al '2011* have recently

o#nd s#pporting evidence in 7ake 3#itIeo in central )exico an

anomalo#s carbon rich layer has been identifed rom a 25 metre core

drilled rom the lake bed and dated to the D event and again contains all

the markers associated $ith the black mat in North merica. "hey state,

We have examined multiple hpotheses to account for these

o!servations and "nd the evidence cannot !e explained ! an #no$n

terrestrial mechanism. %t is& ho$ever& consistent $ith the 'ounger (ras

!oundar impact hpothesis postulating a major extra)terrestrial impact

involving multiple air!urst*s+ and and/or ground impact*s+ at 1,.- #a.

%srade)lcntaraa *,011+ pg 1),

s previo#sly disc#ssed it has been reported that there are an ab#ndance

o markers at each o the 10 3lovis age sites displaying a D( layer

'average thickness o > cm* that contain a diversity o markersB magnetic

microspher#les and grains, charcoal, soot, carbon spher#les, glasslike

carbon, nanodiamonds, and 4#llerenes $ith " +eli#m. Eorthy o note is

that levels o the element ridi#m 'r* are above backgro#nd ?#antities, in

this case 115 parts per billion, in both b#lk sediment and magnetic

ractions. Frani#m 'F* and thori#m '"h* are also in evidence and in high

concentrations that are #p to 2L higher than normal arth cr#st

ab#ndance.


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+o$ever, +olliday et al'2010* "#an et al'2012* arg#e that these markers

can be attrib#ted to terrestrial activity and that the 4irestone et al '2009*

methods are diMc#lt to reprod#ce and in some cases are inherently

@a$ed. "hey state, %ea#s in soot and charcoal from samples immediatel

a!ove the purported 1,.-)#a level $ere used to argue that orth merica

$as the scene of continent)scale $ild"res& 2irestone et al.& *,003& ,004&

,010a+ 6ennett et al.&*,008a& ,00-a+& ! Witt#e et al.& *,017+.

%ndependent studies found no unusual amounts of soot or charcoal in

samples dated to 1,.-# cal a & ho$ever. 9harcoal records from 75 la#e

sediment cores arlon et al.& *,00-+ and data from pollen cores& ;ill et al.&

*,00-+& exactl the #inds of settings that should contain evidence for

regional !urning& reveal no indication of


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"he presence o 4#llerenes in a terrestrial setting are it is alleged

evidence o an " impact, either the impactor $as carrying the 3J0and

they $ere synthesised in the impact pl#me or they $ere already present

in the impactor and $ere delivered to the arth. 4#rther evidence or this

being the case, is the elevated levels o +eli#m '>+e* $hich has been

o#nd contained in the 4#llerenes. n some cases levels that exceed

backgro#nd terrestrial levels by 20->0.

"he correlation o 3 and trapped noble gas atoms in meteorites is $ell

established Ctt, )ack and :her$ood '19/1*. "his $as frst evidenced at

the :#db#ry, 3anada impact site and $as confrmed as " in origin as the

rocks there do not contain s#Mcient levels o carbon to generate the

res#lts observed, (ecker, oreda and (ada, '199J* and (ecker '2001*.

+o$ever, a?#ay et al., '2009* challenge the " impact theory and its

evidences and #rther claim and s#ggest Csmi#m '1/5Cs* and ridi#m 'r*

other chemical isotopes associated $ith " events are not present in

s#Mcient ?#antities to corroborate the other evidences and has been

overlooked in avo#r o >+e . "hey do not confrm the previo#sly recorded

r and 1/5Cs concentrations rom their samplings o sediments oG the


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"hro#gho#t all the North merican sites, )exico and even (elgi#m the

same markers appear time and again these are as disc#ssed magnetic

microspher#les and grains, charcoal, soot, carbon spher#les, glasslike

carbon, nanodiamonds, and 4#llerenes $ith " +eli#m. )agnetic grains

are #ni?#e in that they can be ormed by several processes, volcanism,

break #p o rocks already magnetised and " impact events. n this case

ho$ever, the magnetic grains and magnetic microspher#les are airly

#ni?#e in that they all all $ithin a certain siIe range and have a very

distinctive appearance. "hey are also more ab#ndant in the North than

the :o#th, #rther s#pporting a more Northerly impact site.

"ypically microspher#le ab#ndances average >90 per kilogram and are

highest in the north, ranging #p to 2,1 per kilogram at e the protocols used ! 2irestone et al. *,004+& use

novel protocols in their o$n stud and havesome of the same

de"ciencies in their o$n $or#.t is #rther claimed that 4irestone et al


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'2005* made post hoc alterations to their laboratory methods and then

criticised others or not #sing them +olliday et al'2010*.

:everal o the sites tested also exhibit glass like carbon pieces and

altho#gh not contemporaneo#s in their o$n right are o#nd along $ith the

previo#sly disc#ssed markers and are, it is s#ggested #rther evidence or

carbon melting #nder high eno#gh temperat#res. "his allied $ith above

average radioactive spikes #rther s#pports an " impact theory.

t has been s#ggested by "oon et al. '1995* ?ev ;eophs pg >81O5/.

"hat, an impactor capable o continent $ide damage re?#ires energy o

10megatons, e?#ivalent to an impact by a Pkm$ide comet. +o$ever, in

the absence o $ell-defned crater it has been s#ggested that the

impactor disintegrated in the inner atmosphere, as described previo#sly in

the 190/ "#ng#ska event and having str#ck the 7a#rentide ice sheet

$hich $as 2 miles thick, eAected pieces o the impactor $hich $ere then

sent :o#th in to the 3arolina (ays area $here n#mero#s proposed

impactor sites have been o#nd and $ere $e see the highest

concentrations o glass like carbon pieces and elevated backgro#nd

radioactive spikes.


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+o$ever, glass like carbon as markers or an " impact are challenged by

"ian, :chryvers and 3laeys, '2010* and van +oesel et al., '2012* $ho

concl#de that that these markers can be made by a n#mber o other

processes incl#ding $ildfres and rom ash clo#ds and #rther contend that

4irestone et al '2005*, +aynes '200/* and 6ennet et al'200/* have

misinterpreted these markers and have #sed circ#lar reasoning to all#de

to a provenance that does not exist.

Cne o the most compelling pieces o evidence is that o the existence o

nano diamonds, 'NDs* '4ig * sometimes called impact diamonds $ithin

the black mat. t is alleged that they are in evidence at nearly all the site

investigated by 4irestone et al'2005*, +ayes '200/* and 6ennet et al

'200/*. "hese diamonds are generally called polymorphs and incl#de

c#bic '>3* diamond, lonsdaleite '2+ diamond* and n-diamond 'cc carbon*

o special interest is lonsdaleite beca#se it is only reported in meteorites

or in relation to impact craters.

"hey are #s#ally the prod#ct o shock deormation on carbon or diamond.

ccording to van +oesel et al., '2012*, %@onsdalite has& therefore& !een

previousl ta#en as evidence for shoc# impact formation& although it can

!e created in lo$ Auantities during car!on vapour deposition.+o$ever,

4irestone et al '2005*, +ayes '200/* and 6ennet et al '200/* are adamant

that they have discovered nanodiamonds, %We also have found (s


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outside car!on spherules in !ul# sediments at urra =prings& ri>ona&

and ull 9ree#& B#lahoma.

"his $o#ld indicate that the " event that hit the 7a#rentide ice sheet, as

detailed earlier cast its eAecta ar a$ay rom the proposed impact site and

$hilst there is plenty o opposition to this hypothesis it appears that the

nat#re o nanodiamonds and $ere they originate is not in do#bt. +o$ever,

beca#se #rther investigations by Da#lton, inter and :cott, '2010* have

o#nd nanodiamonds o#tside the D( the hypothesis that nanodiamonds

are #ni?#e to the o#nger Dryas event seems to be in do#bt. n their

latest paper 6ennet et al'201* reconfrm their previo#s fndings and

elaborate on their methods. 4or the sake o brevity and beca#se o the

limited $ord co#nt in this paper the detailed method $ill not be incl#ded

b#t can be o#nd at 6inIie '2018 5-11* s#Mce to say the method is

extremely complicated b#t the res#lts are proo#nd.

s stated previo#sly the primary markers or a likely " event are 'i*

magnetic grains , 'ii* magnetic micro spher#les, 'iii* charcoal, 'iv* soot,

'v*carbon spher#les, 'vi* glasslike carbon containing Nano diamonds 'NDs*

and 'vii* 4#llerenes $ith " +eli#m '>+e* and markers rom the latin#m

gro#p incl#dingB Csmi#m 'Cs* ridi#m 'r* amongst others. ll o $hich are

present in signifcant ?#antities b#t each individ#ally is microscopic in its

o$n right.


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"hereore, it has become apparent that methodical proced#res #ndertaken

by 6ennet et al'2005 and 201* have not been ollo$ed completely and

this has then provided incorrect data $hich has then been p#blished in

opposition to the 6ennet et al '2005* original hypothesis. Da#lton et al

'2010* ailings are that they searched or and ailed to fnd NDs $ithin

carbon spher#les at )#rray :prings, ho$ever neither 4irestone et al

'2005* nor 6ennet et al'2009* reported s#ch at this site. "hey also

searched or NDs in charcoal and once again NDs have never been

reported in charcoal and lastly they did not examine b#lk sediments at

)#rray :prings the only so#rce o NDs reported by 6ennet et al'2009*.

4ollo$ing their sample ac?#isition at rlington 3anyon, 3aliorniaB Da#lton

et al'2010* reported fnding no NDs, ho$ever, their sample collection $as

@a$ed. "hey claimed in inter et al'20118 2* to have ac?#ired samples

rom the same location as 6ennet et al'2009*. Eittke et al'201>* note,

ho$ever, that their sample $as act#ally taken rom o#r separate

discontin#o#s sections, separated by 5000 metres horiIontally rom

6ennet et al'2009*. "hereore, the samples obtained by :cott et al'2010*

represent a mismatch to the sampling area o 6ennet et al'2009* and so

do not represent a contin#o#s dated profle o D( at rlington 3anyon.

"he evidence s#ch as it $as reported by Da#lton et al'2012* #rther

?#estioned the validity o D( NDs as rob#st impact markers. t is,


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ho$ever, $idely accepted that they are markers and $hilst they can be

prod#ced by other terrestrial processes non has been reported that can

prod#ce them in s#ch large ?#antities. (ement et al'201* recently

discovered D( NDs at '190ppm* at (#ll 3reek, Cklahoma and reconfrms

6ennet et al'2009* discovery o NDs '100ppm* at the same site. "o

s#mmarise, o#r independent gro#ps have no$ confrmed NDs in or near

D(, 'Hedmond and "ankersley 2011B "ian et al2011B van +oesel et al

2012B (ement et al201*

"hree other explanations have been proposed or the origins o NDs, these

are8 3osmic @#x, volcanism and $ildfres. 3osmic @#x, a process $ere

grad#ally over time NDs arrive as part o non-catastrophic rain o cosmic

debris. +o$ever, $hilst this process is accepted the NDs in ?#estion are

?#ite diGerent to those prod#ced by this process. "ian et al '2011*B srade-

lcantara et al '2012*

:econd, it has been s#ggested by (oslo#gh et al'2012* that c#bic

diamonds are kno$n in kimberlite pipes $hich are terrestrial in origin, and

have been o#nd in North 6aIakhstan, ho$ever, :helkov et al'199/* have

presented evidence that the lonsdaleite contained the NDs may have

eroded rom an impact crater.

4inally, $ildfres have been s#ggested and $hilst this is possible it does

not explain the continent $ide black mat and the make-#p o this black

mat as has been described previo#sly #nless 0,000 s?#are kilometres o


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the globe $as on fre at the same time $hich then seems to s#ggest to a

catastrophic event as originally hypothesised.

s disc#ssed at 12,/00 10 cal ( and global cooling event took place

kno$n as the o#nger Dryas event 'D* $hich had devastating

conse?#ences or 3lovis c#lt#re and ca#sed mega a#na extinctions and

started a $orld$ide cooling event that lasted in excess o 1,000 years.

black carboniero#s mat frst identifed by +aynes '199* and later

reported by 4irestone etal'2005* has been s#ggested as a marker or a

catastrophic " impact event in the order o h#ndreds o megatons. "he

black mat has been sho$n to contain very specifc chemical and

geomorphic markers that, $hile they can be prod#ced by kno$n terrestrial

processes are evident in s#ch ab#ndance on a global scale in the black

mat and at s#ch stratigraphic time sensitive locations that the " impact

hypothesis is the more likely raison dQRtre or its existence.

6ennet et al'20058201* have thro#gh very metic#lo#s and care#l

analysis sho$n that the plethora o markers are indeed rom a

catastrophic " event, that had devastating conse?#ences or the planet


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at this time and it seems highly probably that this event $as $holly

responsible or the cooling event kno$n as "he o#nger Dryas.

t sho#ld be stated, ho$ever, that more research is needed to establish

the depth and severity o this impact event and #rther research into

physics modelling o s#ch events $o#ld extremely benefcial to all parties

concerned.


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ppendix

4ig 'a*


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4ig 'b*

4ig 'c*


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4ig 'd*

4ig 'e*

4ig '*

4ig 'g*


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:pikes o chemical markers in sediment profles. 12,900 cal (

References

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'ecer, ., oreda, . a-d 'ada, 7. (1996). traterrestrial eli/m Trapped i-

5/llere-es i- the /d3/ry +mpact tr/ct/re. Science, *!*(#*#9), pp.*$9%*#*.

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Is the Black Mat Evidence for a comet impact 12,800 years ago

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