COULD AN AIRBURST ABOVE CANADA AT THE YOUNGER DRYAS ONSET TRIGGER LAKE EUTROPHICATION AND ACIDIFICATION IN CENTRAL EUROPE?
Abstract
An earlier paleoecological study of a European lake found signals of two climatic perturbations in lake sediments at 12.9 ka B. P.
While the older and less severe episode was explained by the Laacher See (LS) volcanic eruption, the later global cooling known as the Younger Dryas (YD) was triggered by an unknown event that has not been recognized. Published evidence of an extraterrestrial impact event dated approximately to the same period and information about its large geographical extent covering North America, Europe, and Middle East inspired our study.
We focused on finding evidence of a cosmic impact in the sediment of acid-sensitive mountain lakes in the Bohemian Forest, Central Europe. In addition, we evaluated the effect of this event on the functioning of the whole catchment-lake system.