In September 2025, two papers in PLOS ONE claimed evidence supporting a Younger Dryas cosmic impact — James Kennett's study of shocked quartz at sites like Blackwater Draw and Murray Springs, and Andrew Moore's analysis of Baffin Bay marine sediment cores. Both were retracted in February 2026 after serious issues emerged: incorrect citations, wrong radiocarbon calibration for high-latitude samples, and a critical error where marine foraminifera (tiny shell-bearing organisms) were misidentified as cosmic impact indicators. This highlights how peer review and replication remain essential safeguards, and how difficult it can be to distinguish extraterrestrial signals from terrestrial or biological sources in the geological record.
2025 PLOS ONE papers on shocked quartz and marine sediment retracted
Key facts
- August-September 2025: Two papers appeared in PLOS ONE supporting the impact hypothesis
- James Kennett's paper on shocked quartz examined Blackwater Draw (New Mexico), Murray Springs (Arizona), and Arlington Canyon (Santa Rosa Island)
- Andrew Moore's paper examined four marine sediment cores from Baffin Bay at depths of 500-2,400m
- Both papers were retracted in early February 2026
- Issues found: incorrect citations, wrong radiocarbon calibration for Baffin Bay's high latitude
- The Baffin Bay material presented as cosmic impact indicators was identified as marine foraminifera (tiny shell-bearing ocean organisms), not space material
- Kennett's paper omitted available radiocarbon samples and included dates spanning centuries either side of proposed Younger Dryas onset
Sources
Retraction: Shocked quartz at the Younger Dryas onset (12.8 ka ...journals.plos.org
The PLOS One Editors (2026) Retraction: Shocked quartz at the Younger Dryas onset (12.8 ka) supports cosmic airbursts/impacts contributing ...
Retraction: A 12,800-year-old layer with cometary dust ...journals.plos.org
Retraction: A 12,800-year-old layer with cometary dust, microspherules, and platinum anomaly recorded in multiple cores from Baffin Bay. The ...
Download Citation - PLOS Onejournals.plos.org
Download Citation. Article Source: RETRACTED: Shocked quartz at the Younger Dryas onset (12.8 ka) supports cosmic airbursts/impacts contributing to North ...
A 12800-year-old layer with cometary dust, microspherules, and ...journals.plos.org
This article has been retracted. View retraction. Abstract. The Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis (YDIH) posits that ~12,800 years ago Earth encountered the ...
Controversial comet theory struck by two new retractionsretractionwatch.com
The group's two new papers focus on different aspects of the Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis, which posits that a “disentangling comet” broke up ...
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