Re: extinction & metor impacts

[stssram@st.unocal.com (Bob Myers)]

On Apr 26, 15:02, Ralph Lindberg wrote:
} Subject: extinction & metor impacts
> Don't forget the 1993 article in Scientic American on large basaltic flows
> and extinctions. There is also some dating evidence that the Deccar (sp)
> flows in India date to the KT time. These MAY have been caused by metor
> impacts. 
> There is also some evidence that the flows in eastern Washington..Idaho 
> where caused by metor impact. Also it's possible that this impact caused 
> the Yellowstone hot spot. Yes as I recall there is a hot spot associated 
> with the Deccar flows

It's possible?  Why do you say that?

There is no evidence that I'm aware of that relates these large continental
flood basalts (which *do* seem to be related to hotspots) with meteor
impacts. 

In particular, it seems very difficult to generate a hotspot with a meteor
impact.   Hotspots are widely believed to originate at the core-mantle
boundry, and it is very difficult to see how a meteor could cause
instability that deep in the Earth, or how such instability could have
immediate effects at the surface (it should take millions of years for the
mantle plume propagate through the mantle to the crust).

So why do you think such a thing is possible?



-- 
Bob Myers                               Unocal Energy Resources Division
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Phone: [714] 693-6951                   Anaheim, California  92817-8076