Ancient Crash, Epic Wave (Mega-Tsunami Every 1000 Years?)

[Strelnikov_]

Repost for what could be one of the most significant geophysical findings in generations (thanks to MattSh for the original). The 'impact' of this theory on the sustainability of modern industrial society, as currently configured, is monumental. Imagine the loss of most of the Pacific rim cities in an instant. Loss of the entire Persian Gulf or Atlantic basin (including GOM) petroleum infrastructure, in an instant. With these events having a, say, 1/2000 chance of occurring any given year.

When these (theorized) objects struck in the past, humans far enough away from the impact and resultant waves simply had land to colonize a few generations later. In our modern interconnected industrial society, the effects will be felt throughout all but the most undeveloped parts of the world in the form of economic collapse, famine, and more than likely conflict as the warlords inevitably try to grab what they can in the chaos.

That meeting in December is going to be very interesting.

Consider that 80% of the worlds population lives within 200 ft. of sea level. We may have one more reason for industrialized society to move a significant enough amount of its resources away from the oceans to provide some redundancy.


Ancient Crash, Epic Wave
By Sandra Blakeslee
November 14, 2006

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/14/science/14WAVE.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

. . .

Most astronomers doubt that any large comets or asteroids have crashed into the Earth in the last 10,000 years. But the self-described “band of misfits” that make up the two-year-old Holocene Impact Working Group say that astronomers simply have not known how or where to look for evidence of such impacts along the world’s shorelines and in the deep ocean.

Scientists in the working group say the evidence for such impacts during the last 10,000 years, known as the Holocene epoch, is strong enough to overturn current estimates of how often the Earth suffers a violent impact on the order of a 10-megaton explosion. Instead of once in 500,000 to one million years, as astronomers now calculate, catastrophic impacts could happen every 1,000 years.

The researchers, who formed the working group after finding one another through an international conference, are based in the United States, Australia, Russia, France and Ireland. They are established experts in geology, geophysics, geomorphology, tsunamis, tree rings, soil science and archaeology, including the structural analysis of myth. Their efforts are just getting under way, but they will present some of their work at the American Geophysical Union meeting in December in San Francisco.

. . .

Dr. Masse analyzed 175 flood myths from around the world, and tried to relate them to known and accurately dated natural events like solar eclipses and volcanic eruptions. Among other evidence, he said, 14 flood myths specifically mention a full solar eclipse, which could have been the one that occurred in May 2807 B.C. Half the myths talk of a torrential downpour, Dr. Masse said. A third talk of a tsunami. Worldwide they describe hurricane force winds and darkness during the storm. All of these could come from a mega-tsunami.

[JeffR]

1. "American Geophysical Union meeting in December in San Francisco"

One more reason for conservatives to loathe and fear "San Francisco values"?

[stillcool]

2. maybe that's why Poppy's

moving inland?

[malaise]

3. Don't know if you saw this

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200611/s1790224.htm
<snip>
Prof Bryant says there have been up to 10 such impacts in the past 10,000 years, based on research with others, including Assistant Professor Dallas Abbott from the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University.

Prof Bryant says these would have caused mega-tsunamis 10 times bigger than the 2004 Asian tsunami, one of the largest earthquake-generated tsunamis the world has ever seen.

"Aceh was a dimple compared to what we're looking at," said Professor Bryant, who is associate dean of science at the university.