On the possible influence of extraterrestrial volatiles on Earth's climate and the origin of the oceans

Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology

Volumn 146, Issue 1-4, 1999, Pages 33-51

  Deming, David ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA   (United States)

Author keywords

Biologic evolution; Catastrophism; Climate; Comets; Ice ages; Mass extinctions; Paleoclimatology

Indexed keywords

CLIMATE; EXTRATERRESTRIAL MATTER; VOLATILE ELEMENT;

EID: 0033557389     PISSN: 00310182     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/S0031-0182(98)00144-8     Document Type: Article

References (95)

1. Ahrens, T.J., 1989. Water storage in the mantle. Nature 342, 122-123.
2. Alvarez, L.W., Alvarez, W., Asaro, F., Michel, H.V., 1980. Extraterrestrial cause for the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction: experimental results and theoretical interpretation. Science 208, 1095-1108.
3. Anders, E., 1989. Pre-biotic organic matter from comets and asteroids. Nature 342, 255-257.
4. Baker, V.R., 1982. The channels of Mars. Univ. Texas Press, Austin, TX, 198 pp.
5. Bebout, G.E., 1995. The impact of subduction-zone metamorphism on mantle-ocean chemical cycling. Chem. Geol. 126, 191-218.
6. Berner, R.A., 1990. Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels over Phanerozoic time. Science 249, 1382-1386.
7. Bice, D.M., Newton, C.R., McCauley, S., Reiners, P.W., McRoberts, C.A., 1992. Shocked quartz at the Triassic-Jurassic boundary in Italy. Science 255, 443-446.
8. Blanchon, P., Shaw, J., 1995. Reef drowning during the last deglaciation: evidence for catastrophic sea-level rise and ice-sheet collapse. Geology 23, 4-8.
9. Boersma, A., 1984. Campanian through paleocene paleotemperature and carbon isotope sequence and the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary in the Atlantic Ocean. In: Berggren, W.A., Van Couvering, J.A. (Eds.), Catastrophes and Earth History. Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton, NJ, pp. 247-277.
10. 2O: implications for volatile transport to the mantle. J. Geophys. Res. 103, 9713-9719.
11. Broecker, W.S., 1997a. Will our ride into the greenhouse future be a smooth one? GSA Today 7 (5), 1-7.
12. 2 upset the current balance? Science 278, 1582-1588.
13. Broecker, W.S., Bond, G., Klas, M., 1990. A salt oscillator in the glacial Atlantic? 1. The concept. Paleoceanography 5, 469-477.
14. Carslaw, H.S., Jaeger, J.C., 1959. Conduction of Heat in Solids, 2nd ed. Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford, 510 pp.
15. Chubb, T.A., 1986. Comment on the paper "On the influx of small comets into the Earth's upper atmosphere I. Observations". Geophys. Res. Lett. 13, 1075-1077.
16. Chyba, C., Sagan, C., 1992. Endogenous production, exogenous delivery and impact-shock synthesis of organic molecules: an inventory for the origins of life. Nature 355, 125-132.
17. Chyba, C.F., Owen, T.C., Ip, W.-H., 1994. Impact delivery of volatiles and organic molecules to Earth. In: Gehrels, T. (Ed.), Hazards Due to Comets and Asteroids. Univ. Arizona Press, Tuscon, AZ, pp. 9-58.
18. Cubasch, U., Cess, R.D., 1990. Processes and modelling. In: Houghton, J.T. et al. (Eds.), Climate Change, The IPCC Scientific Assessment. Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, pp. 69-91.
19. Dansgaard, W., Johnsen, S.J., Clausen, H.B., Dahl-Jensen, D., Gundestrup, N.S., Hammer, C.U., Hvidbert, C.S., Steffensen, J.P., Sveinbjörnsdottir, A.E., Jouzel, J., Bond, G., 1993. Evidence for general instability of past climate from a 250-kyr ice-core record. Nature 364, 218-220.
20. Davis, P.M., 1986. Comment on the letter "On the influx of small comets into the Earth's upper atmosphere". Geophys. Res. Lett. 13, 1181-1182.
21. Davis, M., Hut, P., Muller, R.A., 1984. Extinction of species by periodic comet showers. Nature 308, 715-717.
22. Dessler, A.J., 1991. The small-comet hypothesis. Rev. Geophys. 29, 355-382.
23. Dickens, G.R., Castillo, M.M., Walker, J.C.G., 1997. A blast of gas in the latest Paleocene: simulating first-order effects of massive dissociation of oceanic methane hydrate. Geology 25, 259-262.
24. Donahue, T.M., 1986. Comment on the paper "On the influx of small comets into the Earth's upper atmosphere II. Interpretation". Geophys. Res. Lett. 13, 555-557.
25. Edwards, R.L., Cheng, H., Murrell, M.T., Goldstein, S.J., 1997. Protactinium-231 dating of carbonates by thermal ionization mass spectrometry: implications for Quaternary climate change. Science 276, 782-786.
26. Evans, D.A., Beukes, N.J., Kirschvink, J.L., 1997. Low-latitude glaciation in the Palaeoproterozoic era. Nature 386, 262-266.
27. 3He to the sea floor. Nature 378, 600-603.
28. Fisher, D.M., 1996. Fabrics and veins in the forearc: a record of cyclic fluid flow at depths of <15 km. In: Bebout, G.E. et al., (Eds.), Subduction Top to Bottom. Am. Geophys. Union Geophys. Monogr. 96, 75-89.
29. Frakes, L.A., Francis, J.E., Syktus, J.I., 1992. Climate Modes of the Phanerozoic. Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, 274 pp.
30. Frank, L.A., 1990. The Big Splash. Carol Pub. Group, Seacaucus, NJ, 255 pp.
31. Frank, L.A., Sigwarth, J.B., 1993. Atmospheric holes and small comets. Rev. Geophys. 31, 1-28.
32. Frank, L.A., Sigwarth, J.B., 1997a. Transient decreases of Earth's far-ultraviolet dayglow. Geophys. Res. Lett. 24, 2423-2426.
33. Frank, L.A., Sigwarth, J.B., 1997b. Simultaneous observations of transient decreases of Earth's far-ultraviolet dayglow with two cameras. Geophys. Res. Lett. 24, 2427-2430.
34. Frank, L.A., Sigwarth, J.B., 1997c. Detection of atomic oxygen trails of small comets in the vicinity of Earth. Geophys. Res. Lett. 24, 2431-2434.
35. Frank, L.A., Sigwarth, J.B., 1997d. Trails of OH emissions from small comets near Earth. Geophys. Res. Lett. 24, 2435-2438.
36. Frank, L.A., Sigwarth, J.B., 1998. Atmospheric holes: instrumental and geophysical effects. J. Geophys. Res. (in press).
37. Frank, L.A., Sigwarth, J.B., Craven, J.D., 1986. On the influx of small comets into the Earth's upper atmosphere II: interpretation. Geophys. Res. Lett. 13, 307-310.
38. Frank, L.A., Sigwarth, J.B., Craven, J.D., 1987. Reply to "Comment on 'On the Influx of Small Comets into the Earth's Upper Atmosphere, II. Interpretation' by L.A. Frank, J.B. Sigwarth and J.D. Craven" by J.T. Wasson and F.T. Kyte. Geophys. Res. Lett. 14, 781-782.
39. Goodfriend, G.A., Mitterer, R.M., 1993. A 45,000-yr record of a tropical lowland biota: the land snail fauna from cave sediments at Coco Ree, Jamaica. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 105, 18-29.
40. Grier, J.A., McEwen, A.S., 1997. The small-comet hypothesis: an upper limit to the current impact rate on the Moon. Geophys. Res. Lett. 24, 3105-3108.
41. Grootes, P.M., Stulver, M., White, J.W.C., Johnsen, S., Jouzel, J., 1993. Comparison of oxygen isotope records from the GISP2 and GRIP Greenland ice cores. Nature 366, 552-554.
42. Hallam, A., 1992. Phanerozoic Sea-level Changes. Columbia Univ. Press, New York, NY, 266 pp.
43. Hannegan, B., Olsen, S., Prather, M., Zhu, X., Rind, D., Lerner, J., 1998. The dry stratosphere: a limit on cometary water influx. Geophys. Res. Lett. 25, 1649-1652.
44. Hays, J.D., Imbrie, J., Shackleton, N.J., 1976. Variations in the Earth's orbit: pacemaker of the ice ages. Science 194, 1121-1132.
45. Hills, J.G., 1981. Comet showers and the steady-state infall of comets from the Oort cloud. Astron. J. 86, 1730-1740.
46. 2: Natural Variations Archean to Present. Am. Geophys. Union Geophys. Monogr. 32, 487-492.
47. 18O record. In: Berger, A. et al. (Eds.), Milankovitch and Climate, Part 1. Reidel, Norwell, MA, pp. 269-305.
48. Imbrie, J., Boyle, E.A., Clemens, S.C., Duffy, A., Howard, W.R., Kukla, G., Kutzbach, J., Martinson, D.G., McIntyre, A., Mix, A.C., Molfino, B., Morley, J.J., Peterson, L.C., Pisias, N.G., Prell, W.L., Raymo, M.E., Shackleton, N.J., Toggweiler, J.R., 1992. On the structure and origin of major glaciation cycles 1. linear responses to Milankovitch forcing. Paleoceanography 7, 701-738.
49. Imbrie, J., Berger, A., Boyle, E.A., Clemens, S.C., Duffy, A., Howard, W.R., Kukla, G., Kutzbach, J., Martinson, D.G., McIntyre, A., Mix, A.C., Molfino, B., Morley, J.J., Peterson, L.C., Pisias, N.G., Prell, W.L., Raymo, M.E., Shackleton, N.J., Toggweiler, J.R., 1993a. On the structure and origin of major glaciation cycles 2. the 100,000-year cycle. Paleoceanography 8, 699-735.
50. Imbrie, J., Mix, A.C., Martinson, D.G., 1993b. Milankovitch theory viewed from Devil's Hole. Nature 363, 531-533.
51. Kennett, J.P., Stott, L.D., 1991. Abrupt deep-sea warming, palaeoceanographic changes and benthic extinctions at the end of the Palaeocene. Nature 353, 225-229.
52. Knauth, L.P., Clemens, P.L., 1995. Climatic temperature history of the Earth based on isotopic analyses of cherts. Geol. Soc. Am. Abstr. Progr. 27 (6), A205.
53. Knauth, L.P., Lowe, D.R., 1978. Oxygen isotope geochemistry of cherts from the Onverwacht group (3.4 billion years), Transvaal, South Africa, with implications for secular varations in the isotopic composition of cherts. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 41, 209-222.
54. Kortenkamp, S.J., Dermott, S.F., 1998. A 100,000-year periodicity in the accretion rate of interplanetary dust. Science 280, 874-876.
55. Lebedinets, V.N., Kurbanmuradov, O., 1992. The role of cometary and meteoritic matter in the genesis of noctilucent clouds. Astron. Vestn. 26, 83-92, in Russian.
56. Lovelock, J.E., 1979. Gaia, a New Look at Life on Earth. Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford, 157 pp.
57. Matese, J.J., Whitmire, D.P., 1996. Tidal imprint of distant galactic matter on the Oort comet cloud. Astrophys. J. Lett. 472, L41-L43.
58. Meade, C., Jeanloz, R., 1991. Deep-focus earthquakes and recycling of water into the Earth's mantle. Science 252, 68-72.
59. Milankovitch, M., 1930. Mathematische Klimalehre und Astronomische Theorie der Klimaschwankungen. Borntraeger, Berlin, 176 pp.
60. Miller, G.H., Magee, J.W., Jull, A.J.T., 1997. Low-latitude glacial cooling in the southern hemisphere from amino-acid racemization in emu eggshells. Nature 385, 241-244.
61. Muller, R.A., MacDonald, G.J., 1995. Glacial cycles and orbital inclinations. Nature 377, 107.
62. Muller, R.A., MacDonald, G.J., 1997a. Simultaneous presence of orbital inclination and eccentricity in proxy climate records from Ocean Drilling Program Site 806. Geology 25, 3-6.
63. Muller, R.A., MacDonald, G.J., 1997b. Glacial cycles and astronomical forcing. Science 277, 215-218.
64. 2O from combustion sources. Geophys. Res. Lett. 15, 1369-1372.
65. Nakamura, Y., Oberst, J., Clifford, S.M., Bills, B.G., 1986. Comment on the letter "On the influx of small comets into the Earth's upper atmosphere". Geophys. Res. Lett. 13, 1184-1185.
66. Nicholls, N., Gruza, G.V., Jouzel, J., Karl, T.R., Ogallo, L.A., Parker, D.E., 1996. Observed climate variability and change. In: Houghton, J.T. et al. (Eds.), Climate Change 1995, The Science of Climate Change. Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, pp. 133-192.
67. Nolet, G., Zielhuis, A., 1994. Low S velocities under the Tornquist-Teisseyre zone: evidence for water injection into the transition zone by subduction. J. Geophys. Res. 99, 15813-15820.
68. Nozette, S., Lichtenberg, C.L., Spudis, P., Bonner, R., Ort, W., Malaret, E., Robinson, M., Shoemaker, E.M., 1996. The Clementine bistatic radar experiment. Science 274, 1495-1498.
69. Parks, G., Brittnacher, M., Chen, L.J., Elsen, R., McCarthy, M., Germany, G., Spann, J., 1997. Does the UVI on Polar detect cosmic snowballs? Geophys. Res. Lett. 24, 3109-3112.
70. Parks, G., Brittnacher, M., Elsen, R., McCarthy, M., O'Meara, J.M., Germany, G., Spann, J., 1998. Comparison of dark pixels observed by VIS and UVI in dayglow images. Geophys. Res. Lett. 25, 3063-3066.
71. Peucker-Ehrenbrink, B., 1996. Accretion of extraterrestrial matter during the last 80 million years and its effect on the marine osmium isotope record. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 60, 3187-3196.
72. Rampino, M.R., 1994. Tillites, diamictites, and ballistic ejecta of large impacts. J. Geol. 102, 439-456.
73. Rampino, M.R., Haggerty, B.M., 1996. Impact crises and mass extinctions: a working hypothesis. In: Ryder, G. et al. (Eds.), The Cretaceous-Tertiary Event and Other Catastrophes in Earth History. Geol. Soc. Am. Spec. Pap. 307, 11-30.
74. Raymo, M.E., Ruddiman, W.F., 1992. Tectonic forcing of late Cenozoic climate. Nature 359, 117-122.
75. Raymo, M.E., Ruddiman, W.F., Froelich, P.N., 1988. Influence of late Cenozoic mountain building on ocean geochemical cycles. Geology 16, 649-653.
76. Raynaud, D., Jouzel, J., Barnola, J.M., Chappellaz, J., Delmas, R.J., Lorius, C., 1993. The ice record of greenhouse gasses. Science 259, 926-934.
77. Rizk, B., Dessler, A.J., 1997. Small comets: naked-eye visibility. Geophys. Res. Lett. 24, 3121-3124.
78. Rubey, W.W., 1951. Geologic history of sea water, an attempt to state the problem. Bull. Geol. Soc. Am. 62, 1111-1148.
79. Rye, R., Kuo, P.H., Holland, H.D., 1995. Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations before 2.2 billions years ago. Nature 378, 603-605.
80. Schimel, D., 26 others, Radiative forcing of climate change. In: Houghton, J.T. et al. (Eds.), Climate Change 1995, The Science of Climate Change. Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, pp. 65-131.
81. Shaffer, J.A., Cerveny, R.S., Dorn, R.I., 1996. Radiation windows as indicators of an astronomical influence on the Devil's Hole chronology. Geology 24, 1017-1020.
82. Slade, M.A., Butler, B.J., Muhleman, D.O., 1992. Mercury radar imaging: evidence for polar ice. Science 258, 635-640.
83. 4): An ocean in the Earth's interior? Am. Mineral. 79, 1021-1024.
84. 2O and Ozone. Science 277, 1967-1970.
85. Sundquist, E.T., 1993. The global carbon dioxide budget. Science 259, 934-941.
86. 30Ar ages of 65.0 million years ago from Chicxulub crater melt rock and Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary tektites. Science 257, 954-958.
87. Thomas, E., Shackleton, N.J., 1996. The Paleocene-Eocene benthic foraminiferal extinction and stable isotope anomalies. In: Knox, R.W. O'B. et al. (Eds.), Correlation of the Early Paleogene in Northwest Europe. Geol. Soc. Spec. Publ. 101, 401-441.
88. Toon, O.B., Turco, R.P., Covey, C., 1997. Environmental perturbations caused by the impacts of asteroids and comets. Rev. Geophys. 35, 41-78.
89. Torgersen, T., Drenkard, S., Stute, M., Schlosser, P., Shapiro, A., 1995. Mantle helium in ground waters of eastern North America: time and space constraints on sources. Geology 23, 675-678.
90. Tuncel, G., Zoller, W.H., 1987. Atmospheric iridium at the South Pole as a measure of the meteoritic component. Nature 329, 703-705.
91. Turco, R.P., Toon, O.B., Park, C., Whitten, R.C., Pollack, J.B., 1982. An analysis of the physical, chemical, optical, and historical impacts of the 1908 Tunguska Meteor Fall. Icarus 50, 1-52.
92. Vail, PR., Mitchum, R.M., Jr., Thompson III, S., 1977. Seismic stratigraphy and global changes of sea level, Part 3: relative changes of sea level from coastal onlap. In: Payton, C.E. (Ed.), Seismic Stratigraphy - Applications to Hydrocarbon Exploration. Am. Assoc. Pet. Geol. Mem. 26, 83-97.
93. Weissman, P.R., 1986. The Oort cloud and the galaxy: dynamical interactions. In: Smoluchowski, R. et al. (Eds.), The Galaxy and the Solar System. Univ. Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ, pp. 204-237.
94. Winograd, I.J., Coplen .B., T.B., Landwehr, J.M., Riggs, A.C., Ludwig, K.R., Szabo, B.J., Kolesar, P.T., Revesz, K.M., 1992. Continuous 500,00-year climate record from vein calcite in Devil's Hole, Nevada. Science 258, 255-260.
95. Winograd, I.J., Landwehr, J.M., Ludwig, K.R., Coplen, T.B., Riggs, A.C., 1997. Duration and structure of the past four interglaciations. Quat. Res. 48, 141-154.