The big news story this week is of course the discovery of a massive crater under the Greenland ice sheet. Both William and Gary have forwarded links to the story. At https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-6389645/Nineteen-mile-wi… … we are told a 19 mile wide crater has been discovered half a mile under the ice sheet – and it is speculated it was caused by a kilometre wide iron meteor. Of course, until the crater is actually investigated nobody really knows – and the same goes for the date it struck. The possibility is that it occurred around 12,000 years ago and the Daily Mail leaps on a connection with the Younger Dryas event (ignoring the necessity to explain the Older and the Oldest Dryas events). Further reading reveals the researchers have posed a date somewhere between 3 million years ago and 12,000 years ago, a different kind of pickle to the headline. The Younger Dryas event does not require a massive iron meteor to smash into Greenland which confirms the journalist has not read up on the issue – and is just hyperventilating. I don't expect anyone in the Younger Dryas team to get excited by this discovery …
… the story is also at https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/Massive-crater-under-greenlands-ice… …
Gary also sent in a link to another story at https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-6393371/Could-Atlantis-S… … Could satellites have spotted the ancient city of Atlantis – submerged off the coast of Spain. Another story with a bit of hype it would seem but it may come from the people looking for Atlantis rather than the reporter doing the report. However, this one is a gem. He says at one point the ruins '.. were in fact built by a mysterious people known as the Atlanteans'.
… The location is north of Cadiz and close to the Donana National Park which it is claimed was an inland sea with settlements along its shore line. There are also the remains of a harbour wall that is extremely thick.
At https://geosciencebigpicture.com/2013/10/12/yellowstone-hot-spot-or-not/ … which is the blog of a geoscientist that has doubts about the Yellowstone hot spot hypothesis. This theory has become part of established science fact so it is illuminating to realise not all geologists are onboard. It is supposed to be associated with the ocean spreading ridges of northern California, Oregon and Washington State. Subduction in the region is generally connected with volcanism in the Cascades. He claims volcanoes in western USA is more likely to be associated with uplift rather than affecting regions in the interior of North America, such as Yellowstone. Hence, he does not think the hot spot is a valid idea – as far as a moving one that is. A stationary hot spot might be more feasible but the beauty of this post is that it shows that consensus theories are not always as firm as they are claimed to be.