Article Abstract:
A study has been conducted to examine whether the accretion rates of interplanetary dust particles (IDP) influence the Earth's glaciation cycles. The accretion rates of IDP were determined by measuring the amount of helium-3 in oceanic sediments. The results showed a correlation between variations in the helium-3 flux to the sea floor and increasing rates of accretion due to a 100-kyr periodicity in the Earth's orbital inclination, suggesting that the rate of delivery of extraterrestrial dust to the sea floor may be responsible for variations in glaciation periods.
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
Article Abstract:
A study conducted on the measurement of 3He in pelagic clay shows that the influx of interplanetary dust has undergone major changes since the Cenozoic era. The interplanetary dust is formed by the debris of comets and asteroids in the Zodiacal Cloud and the changes in the influx are due to some dramatic and major events. Between 37.6 and 36.3 Myr the influx becomes approximately triple and compares to an increase in impact crater formation in the Quaternary. These results indicate that 3He may be more valuable than iridium in tracing interplanetary dust flux.
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
Article Abstract:
Less continental ice and higher sea levels existed during an interglacial period of 23,000 to 58,000 years ago than has been previously supposed, according to oxygen isotope measures from drill cores from the Sulu Sea and corals from the Huon peninsula. Continental ice formation to full glacial conditions then occurred at faster rate and within a period of 10 kyr. Two cores exhibited a 0.4% reduction in delta-18O before and after the Younger Dryas chronozone, revealing the basin-wide coherence of the planktonic delta-18O signal.
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic: