Uncovering Evidence of a Cataclysmic Event
A recent discovery beneath the ocean floor has provided compelling evidence of a massive event that could be linked to the legend of Atlantis. Some researchers, including renowned author Graham Hancock, have long suggested that around 12,800 years ago, a colossal comet passed through Earth's atmosphere, leading to widespread devastation that wiped out advanced civilizations across the globe.
While direct proof of Atlantis remains elusive, scientists have now found geochemical clues that support the theory of this catastrophic event known as the Younger Dryas. The controversial Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis (YDIH) posits that Earth passed through debris from a disintegrating comet, resulting in impacts and shockwaves that destabilized massive ice sheets. This led to significant flooding, disrupted ocean currents, and triggered rapid climate cooling.
New Evidence from Baffin Bay
Researchers from the University of South Carolina have uncovered metallic debris, including comet dust and thousands of tiny microspherules, in seafloor sediments from Baffin Bay. These findings strengthen the comet impact theory. Marc Young, an archaeologist and co-author of the study, explained that the Younger Dryas onset is associated with major changes in human population dynamics, particularly in the northern hemisphere. He noted that several independent studies have shown that most megafaunal species that went extinct disappeared precisely at that time.
Some mainstream scientists argue that the cooling was caused by glacial meltwater flooding the Atlantic Ocean, which weakened ocean currents and led to a temperature drop. However, Young pointed out that such cooling events have occurred many times over the last 100,000 years, but none caused megafauna extinctions, wiped out human populations, or deposited a global layer of impact debris like the YD did. He added that the release of meltwater into the oceans at the YD onset was orders of magnitude larger than previous events, causing a near-instantaneous global sea level rise of over 16 feet, while past sea level rises during similar coolings were negligible.
Analyzing Sediment Cores
The sediment cores analyzed by the team serve as historical records, preserving layers of mud, sand, and particles deposited over millennia. By examining these layers, scientists can reconstruct past climates, ecosystems, and geological events. The four cores were collected from locations spanning about 620 miles across Baffin Bay, from shallow waters near Jones Sound to deeper areas near Davis Strait. The cores were taken from water depths between 1,640 and 7,870 feet.
Iron-rich and silica-rich tiny spherical particles, or microspherules, were found in layers of the sediment cores dating back 12,800 years. These microspherules formed at very high temperatures, with bubbles, branching surface patterns, and aerodynamic shapes that suggested they traveled fast through the air. The iron-rich microspherules also contained small blobs of a low-oxygen metal that is chemically between chromite and chromium-magnetite, minerals found in certain types of meteorites and impact materials.
Additional Findings and Implications
Led by Christopher R Moore, the researchers also detected a pronounced spike in platinum, a rare element often enriched during extraterrestrial impacts, in the same sediment layers containing the microspherules and comet dust. Fragments of melted glass and grains were also found, including melted clusters with iron-rich particles and quartz that melted or boiled at very high temperatures. These also included glass rich in iron, chromium, potassium, and titanium.
Small blobs of melted chromite, iron-chromium-nickel alloys, iron oxide, and tungsten were found fused onto quartz and magnetite grains from the Younger Dryas Boundary layers in the cores. These metallic blobs mostly consist of native nickel, iron-chromium-nickel alloys, and chromite, and they look very similar to melted splatters on minerals found in South Carolina that have been identified as cometary dust particles.
Young emphasized the significance of this ocean-based evidence: 'Until now, no oceanic sediment cores had been used to test the Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis. This is the first and only ocean-based geochemical evidence for the hypothesis since it was proposed in 2007. Importantly, it's the first time anyone has looked, and finding this evidence on the very first attempt is very promising.'
Future Research and Exploration
These findings indicate a geochemical anomaly occurring around when the Younger Dryas event began, but they do not provide direct evidence supporting the impact hypothesis, according to the team. More research is needed to confirm whether the findings are indeed evidence of impact and to firmly link an impact to climate cooling.
'Our identification of a Younger Dryas impact layer in deep marine sediments underscores the potential of oceanic records to broaden our understanding of this event and its climatological impacts,' Moore said. Co-author Dr Mohammed Baalousha added: 'It is great to implement our unique nano-analytical tools in a new area of study, namely the analysis of nanoparticles generated or transported to the Baffin Bay core site during the Younger Dryas. We are always happy to implement our tools to support our colleagues and explore new frontiers.'