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Study Confirms Younger Dryas Impact: Ecosystem Disruption Revealed

1/6/2026

Summary

Story summary

A PLOS One study led by James Kennett supports the Younger Dryas impact hypothesis, dating to 12,800 years ago.
Researchers found evidence of extreme heat and pressure, including shocked quartz and the 'black mat' layer at sites in Arizona, New Mexico, and California.
The absence of a crater suggests a mid-air detonation, forming a fireball that disrupted ecosystems and contributed to a significant cooling period, mammoth extinctions, and Clovis decline.

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Story summary

A PLOS One study led by James Kennett supports the Younger Dryas impact hypothesis, dating to 12,800 years ago.
Researchers found evidence of extreme heat and pressure, including shocked quartz and the 'black mat' layer at sites in Arizona, New Mexico, and California.
The absence of a crater suggests a mid-air detonation, forming a fireball that disrupted ecosystems and contributed to a significant cooling period, mammoth extinctions, and Clovis decline.