Wolbach, Wendy S. and Ballard, Joanne P. and Mayewski, Paul A. and Parnell, Andrew and Cahill, Niamh and Adedeji, Victor and Bunch, Ted. E. and Domínguez-Vázquez, Gabriela and Erlandson, Jon M. and Firestone, Richard B. and French, Timothy A. and Howard, George and Israde-Alcántara, Isabel and Johnson, John R. and Kimbel, David and Kinzie, Charles R. and Kurbatov, Andrei and Kletetschka, Gunther and LeCompte, Malcolm A. and Mahaney, William C. and Melott, Adrian L. and Mitra, Siddhartha and Maiorana-Boutilier, Abigail and Moore, Christopher R. and Napier, William M. and Parlier, Jennifer and Tankersley, Kenneth B. and Thomas, Brian C. and Wittke, James H. and West, Allen and Kennett, James P. (2018) Extraordinary Biomass-Burning Episode and Impact Winter Triggered by the Younger Dryas Cosmic Impact ∼12,800 Years Ago. 2. Lake, Marine, and Terrestrial Sediments. The Journal of Geology, 126 (2). pp. 185-205. ISSN 0022-1376

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Abstract

Part 1 of this study investigated evidence of biomass burning in global ice records, and here we continue to test the hypothesis that an impact event at the Younger Dryas boundary (YDB) caused an anomalously intense episode of biomass burning at ∼12.8 ka on a multicontinental scale (North and South America, Europe, and Asia). Quantitative analyses of charcoal and soot records from 152 lakes, marine cores, and terrestrial sequences reveal a major peak in biomass burning at the Younger Dryas (YD) onset that appears to be the highest during the latest Quaternary. For the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary (K-Pg) impact event, concentrations of soot were previously utilized to estimate the global amount of biomass burned, and similar measurements suggest that wildfires at the YD onset rapidly consumed ∼10 million km2 of Earth’s surface, or ∼9% of Earth’s biomass, considerably more than for the K-Pg impact. Bayesian analyses and age regressions demonstrate that ages for YDB peaks in charcoal and soot across four continents are synchronous with the ages of an abundance peak in platinum in the Greenland Ice Sheet Project 2 (GISP2) ice core and of the YDB impact event (12,835–12,735 cal BP). Thus, existing evidence indicates that the YDB impact event caused an anomalously large episode of biomass burning, resulting in extensive atmospheric soot/dust loading that triggered an “impact winter.” This, in turn, triggered abrupt YD cooling and other climate changes, reinforced by climatic feedback mechanisms, including Arctic sea ice expansion, rerouting of North American continental runoff, and subsequent ocean circulation changes.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Cite as: Extraordinary Biomass-Burning Episode and Impact Winter Triggered by the Younger Dryas Cosmic Impact ∼12,800 Years Ago. 2. Lake, Marine, and Terrestrial Sediments Wendy S. Wolbach, Joanne P. Ballard, Paul A. Mayewski, Andrew C. Parnell, Niamh Cahill, Victor Adedeji, Ted E. Bunch, Gabriela Domínguez-Vázquez, Jon M. Erlandson, Richard B. Firestone, Timothy A. French, George Howard, Isabel Israde-Alcántara, John R. Johnson, David Kimbel, Charles R. Kinzie, Andrei Kurbatov, Gunther Kletetschka, Malcolm A. LeCompte, William C. Mahaney, Adrian L. Melott, Siddhartha Mitra, Abigail Maiorana-Boutilier, Christopher R. Moore, William M. Napier, Jennifer Parlier, Kenneth B. Tankersley, Brian C. Thomas, James H. Wittke, Allen West, and James P. Kennett The Journal of Geology 2018 126:2, 185-205
Keywords:	Biomass-Burning Episode; Impact Winter; Triggered; Younger Dryas Cosmic Impact; Sediments; Younger Dryas boundary; global ice records;
Academic Unit:	Faculty of Science and Engineering > Mathematics and Statistics Faculty of Science and Engineering > Research Institutes > Hamilton Institute
Item ID:	13277
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.1086/695704
Depositing User:	Andrew Parnell
Date Deposited:	24 Sep 2020 15:20
Journal or Publication Title:	The Journal of Geology
Publisher:	University of Chicago Press
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	Publisher
Use Licence:	This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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