1. Meteoritic Impacts and Climatic Changes in PlioceneâPleistocene Epoch.
- Author
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Trina Bose, Ajoy Bhaumik, and Saumitra Misra
- Abstract
Abstract  During the PlioceneâPleistocene epoch, covering last â¼5.2 Ma of Earthâs history, altogether 34 terrestrial meteoritic impact craters are known. Most of these craters (29) have diameter â¤10 km, among which 11 craters fall in 1,000 to 100 m range, and 7 are still smaller in dimension and of recent age. The age versus impact-frequency plot shows that the meteoritic impacts during this time period occurred in discrete intervals but have a periodicity that shows the best possible coincidence with the â¼425 Ky climatic cycles observed by Fourier analysis and FFT filtering of composite high resolution benthic foraminiferal δ18O record. This observation is also supported by Monte Carlo test with 71% success where meteoritic impact(s) shows coincidence with climatic cooling within our error limit. The newly observed climaticâmeteoritic cycle may be same with the â¼400 Ky Milankovitch cycle or it is a different newly understood cycle relating both the climatic variation and meteoritic impact events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2007
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