Prehistoric climate change linked to comet crash in Quebec
TORONTO – Researchers believe they have found the cause of a dramatic and abrupt shift in the prehistoric global climate.
They say the cause was due to the impact of an asteroid or comet crashing into Quebec some 13,000 years ago.
The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), found that the impact, which researchers say occurred at the beginning of the Younger Dryas period, wiped out many of Earth’s large mammals, including camels, giant sloths, saber-toothed cats and mastodons.
The cosmic impact also may have prompted human hunters to begin gathering and growing their food.
The Younger Dryas period was a relatively brief (around 1,300 years) span where the Earth returned to glacial conditions.
“The Younger Dryas cooling impacted human history in a profound manner,” said Dartmouth College professor and co-author of the study Mukul Sharma.
While there is no controversy over whether or not these environmental changes took place, the cause of these changes has long been disputed.
...more..
Prehistoric climate change linked to comet crash in Quebec | Globalnews.ca
TORONTO – Researchers believe they have found the cause of a dramatic and abrupt shift in the prehistoric global climate.
They say the cause was due to the impact of an asteroid or comet crashing into Quebec some 13,000 years ago.
The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), found that the impact, which researchers say occurred at the beginning of the Younger Dryas period, wiped out many of Earth’s large mammals, including camels, giant sloths, saber-toothed cats and mastodons.
The cosmic impact also may have prompted human hunters to begin gathering and growing their food.
The Younger Dryas period was a relatively brief (around 1,300 years) span where the Earth returned to glacial conditions.
“The Younger Dryas cooling impacted human history in a profound manner,” said Dartmouth College professor and co-author of the study Mukul Sharma.
While there is no controversy over whether or not these environmental changes took place, the cause of these changes has long been disputed.
...more..
Prehistoric climate change linked to comet crash in Quebec | Globalnews.ca