Thackeray proposes a syllogism linking the Younger Dryas onset to combined extraterrestrial and volcanic activity. Charlotte Green et al. 2025 claimed a sulfate spike occurred 45 years before the platinum spike, but Thackeray and Moore question this dating precision. Mechanism: impacts could trigger volcanism via seismic shock waves.
Thackeray syllogism links Younger Dryas onset to combined impact and volcanic activity
Key facts
- Syllogism proposes: platinum peak is close in time to onset of Younger Dryas cooling (OYD); sulfate spike from volcanic activity is also close in time to OYD; therefore platinum peak is close in time to sulfate spike
- Charlotte Green et al. (2024) claimed volcanic sulfate spike occurred 45 years before platinum spike in Greenland ice core
- Thackeray and Chris Moore independently question the dating precision of this correlation
- Proposed mechanism: extraterrestrial impacts may trigger volcanic activity through shock waves and seismic tremors releasing pressure on deep magma, potentially within a day
- Forthcoming paper titled "The onset of the Younger Dryas cooling episode, extraterrestrial impact and/or volcanic eruptions" to be published by South African Archaeological Society
Sources
A possible volcanic origin for the Greenland ice core Pt anomaly ...journals.plos.org
by CE Green · 2025 · Cited by 3 — A comparison of Greenland ice geochemistry across the Younger Dryas platinum spike (upper panels A-C) and the 8th Century Katla eruption (bottom panels D-F).
Platinum Record for the Ice Ageearthdate.org
According to the GISP2 ice core from Greenland, the Younger Dryas event ended even more rapidly than it started, warming in just 40–50 years.
Scientists solve 12800-year-old climate mystery hidden in Greenland ihidropolitikakademi.org
Because the platinum spike occurred after the cooling began, it was not the trigger for the Younger Dryas. However, other ice core records ...
Large Pt anomaly in the Greenland ice core points to a cataclysm at the onset ...pnas.org
by MI Petaev · 2013 · Cited by 115 — One explanation of the abrupt cooling episode known as the Younger Dryas (YD) is a cosmic impact or airburst at the YD boundary (YDB) that triggered cooling ...
Scientists solve 12800-year-old climate mystery hidden in Greenland ...sciencedaily.com
The platinum spike occurs near the beginning of our planet's last great cold period, the Younger Dryas Event. This lasted from about 12,870 to ...
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