Skip to main content
  • Submit
  • About
    • Editorial Board
    • PNAS Staff
    • FAQ
    • Accessibility Statement
    • Rights and Permissions
    • Site Map
  • Contact
  • Journal Club
  • Subscribe
    • Subscription Rates
    • Subscriptions FAQ
    • Open Access
    • Recommend PNAS to Your Librarian
  • Log in
  • My Cart

Main menu

  • Home
  • Articles
    • Current
    • Special Feature Articles - Most Recent
    • Special Features
    • Colloquia
    • Collected Articles
    • PNAS Classics
    • List of Issues
  • Front Matter
  • News
    • For the Press
    • This Week In PNAS
    • PNAS in the News
  • Podcasts
  • Authors
    • Information for Authors
    • Editorial and Journal Policies
    • Submission Procedures
    • Fees and Licenses
  • Submit
  • About
    • Editorial Board
    • PNAS Staff
    • FAQ
    • Accessibility Statement
    • Rights and Permissions
    • Site Map
  • Contact
  • Journal Club
  • Subscribe
    • Subscription Rates
    • Subscriptions FAQ
    • Open Access
    • Recommend PNAS to Your Librarian

User menu

  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
Home
Home

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Articles
    • Current
    • Special Feature Articles - Most Recent
    • Special Features
    • Colloquia
    • Collected Articles
    • PNAS Classics
    • List of Issues
  • Front Matter
  • News
    • For the Press
    • This Week In PNAS
    • PNAS in the News
  • Podcasts
  • Authors
    • Information for Authors
    • Editorial and Journal Policies
    • Submission Procedures
    • Fees and Licenses

New Research In

Physical Sciences

Featured Portals

  • Physics
  • Chemistry
  • Sustainability Science

Articles by Topic

  • Applied Mathematics
  • Applied Physical Sciences
  • Astronomy
  • Computer Sciences
  • Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
  • Engineering
  • Environmental Sciences
  • Mathematics
  • Statistics

Social Sciences

Featured Portals

  • Anthropology
  • Sustainability Science

Articles by Topic

  • Economic Sciences
  • Environmental Sciences
  • Political Sciences
  • Psychological and Cognitive Sciences
  • Social Sciences

Biological Sciences

Featured Portals

  • Sustainability Science

Articles by Topic

  • Agricultural Sciences
  • Anthropology
  • Applied Biological Sciences
  • Biochemistry
  • Biophysics and Computational Biology
  • Cell Biology
  • Developmental Biology
  • Ecology
  • Environmental Sciences
  • Evolution
  • Genetics
  • Immunology and Inflammation
  • Medical Sciences
  • Microbiology
  • Neuroscience
  • Pharmacology
  • Physiology
  • Plant Biology
  • Population Biology
  • Psychological and Cognitive Sciences
  • Sustainability Science
  • Systems Biology
Research Article

Bayesian chronological analyses consistent with synchronous age of 12,835–12,735 Cal B.P. for Younger Dryas boundary on four continents

James P. Kennett, Douglas J. Kennett, Brendan J. Culleton, J. Emili Aura Tortosa, James L. Bischoff, Ted E. Bunch, I. Randolph Daniel Jr., Jon M. Erlandson, David Ferraro, Richard B. Firestone, Albert C. Goodyear, Isabel Israde-Alcántara, John R. Johnson, Jesús F. Jordá Pardo, David R. Kimbel, Malcolm A. LeCompte, Neal H. Lopinot, William C. Mahaney, Andrew M. T. Moore, Christopher R. Moore, Jack H. Ray, Thomas W. Stafford Jr., Kenneth Barnett Tankersley, James H. Wittke, Wendy S. Wolbach, and Allen West
PNAS first published July 27, 2015; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1507146112
James P. Kennett
aDepartment of Earth Science and Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • For correspondence: kennett@geol.ucsb.edu
Douglas J. Kennett
bDepartment of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Brendan J. Culleton
bDepartment of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
J. Emili Aura Tortosa
cDepartament Prehistoria i Arqueologia, Universitat de Valencia, E-46010 Valencia, Spain;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
James L. Bischoff
dBerkeley Geochronology Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94709;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Ted E. Bunch
eGeology Program, School of Earth Science and Environmental Sustainability, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
I. Randolph Daniel Jr.
fDepartment of Anthropology, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Jon M. Erlandson
gMuseum of Natural and Cultural History, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
David Ferraro
hViejo California Associates, Joshua Tree, CA 92252;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Richard B. Firestone
iLawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Albert C. Goodyear
jSouth Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Isabel Israde-Alcántara
kInstituto de Investigaciones Metalúrgicas, Departamento de Geología y Mineralogía, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicólas de Hidalgo, 58060 Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
John R. Johnson
lSanta Barbara Museum of Natural History, Santa Barbara, CA 93105;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Jesús F. Jordá Pardo
mDepartamento de Prehistoria y Arqueología, Facultad de Geografía e Historia, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, E-28040 Madrid, Spain;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
David R. Kimbel
nKimstar Research, Fayetteville, NC 28312;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Malcolm A. LeCompte
oCenter of Excellence in Remote Sensing Education and Research, Elizabeth City State University, Elizabeth City, NC 27909;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Neal H. Lopinot
pCenter for Archaeological Research, Missouri State University, Springfield, MO 65897;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
William C. Mahaney
qQuaternary Surveys, Thornhill, ON, Canada L4J 1J4;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Andrew M. T. Moore
rCollege of Liberal Arts, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY 14623;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Christopher R. Moore
jSouth Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Jack H. Ray
pCenter for Archaeological Research, Missouri State University, Springfield, MO 65897;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Thomas W. Stafford Jr.
sAMS 14C Dating Centre, Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of Aarhus, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark;
tCentre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, Geological Museum, DK-1350 Copenhagen, Denmark;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Kenneth Barnett Tankersley
uDepartments of Anthropology and Geology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
James H. Wittke
eGeology Program, School of Earth Science and Environmental Sustainability, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Wendy S. Wolbach
vDepartment of Chemistry, DePaul University, Chicago, IL 60614;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Allen West
wGeoScience Consulting, Dewey, AZ 86327
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  1. Edited by Mark H. Thiemens, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, and approved June 26, 2015 (received for review April 14, 2015)

This article has Letters. Please see:

  • Incomplete Bayesian model rejects contradictory radiocarbon data for being contradictory - November 24, 2015
  • Problematic dating of claimed Younger Dryas boundary impact proxies - November 24, 2015

See related content:

  • Bayesian analysis supports Younger Dryas impact
    - Nov 24, 2015
  • Article
  • Figures & SI
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF
Loading

Significance

A cosmic impact event at ∼12,800 Cal B.P. formed the Younger Dryas boundary (YDB) layer, containing peak abundances in multiple, high-temperature, impact-related proxies, including spherules, melt glass, and nanodiamonds. Bayesian statistical analyses of 354 dates from 23 sedimentary sequences over four continents established a modeled YDB age range of 12,835 Cal B.P. to 12,735 Cal B.P., supporting synchroneity of the YDB layer at high probability (95%). This range overlaps that of a platinum peak recorded in the Greenland Ice Sheet and of the onset of the Younger Dryas climate episode in six key records, suggesting a causal connection between the impact event and the Younger Dryas. Due to its rarity and distinctive characteristics, the YDB layer is proposed as a widespread correlation datum.

Abstract

The Younger Dryas impact hypothesis posits that a cosmic impact across much of the Northern Hemisphere deposited the Younger Dryas boundary (YDB) layer, containing peak abundances in a variable assemblage of proxies, including magnetic and glassy impact-related spherules, high-temperature minerals and melt glass, nanodiamonds, carbon spherules, aciniform carbon, platinum, and osmium. Bayesian chronological modeling was applied to 354 dates from 23 stratigraphic sections in 12 countries on four continents to establish a modeled YDB age range for this event of 12,835–12,735 Cal B.P. at 95% probability. This range overlaps that of a peak in extraterrestrial platinum in the Greenland Ice Sheet and of the earliest age of the Younger Dryas climate episode in six proxy records, suggesting a causal connection between the YDB impact event and the Younger Dryas. Two statistical tests indicate that both modeled and unmodeled ages in the 30 records are consistent with synchronous deposition of the YDB layer within the limits of dating uncertainty (∼100 y). The widespread distribution of the YDB layer suggests that it may serve as a datum layer.

  • Younger Dryas
  • comet
  • Bayesian
  • radiocarbon
  • synchroneity

Footnotes

  • ↵1To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: kennett{at}geol.ucsb.edu.
  • ↵2Retired.

  • Author contributions: J.P.K., D.J.K., B.J.C., T.E.B., W.S.W., and A.W. designed research; J.P.K., D.J.K., B.J.C., J.E.A.T., J.L.B., T.E.B., I.R.D., J.M.E., D.F., A.C.G., I.I.-A., J.R.J., J.F.J.P., D.R.K., M.A.L., N.H.L., W.C.M., A.M.T.M., C.R.M., J.H.R., T.W.S., K.B.T., W.S.W., and A.W. performed research; J.P.K., D.J.K., B.J.C., J.E.A.T., J.L.B., I.R.D., J.M.E., D.F., R.B.F., A.C.G., I.I.-A., J.R.J., J.F.J.P., M.A.L., N.H.L., W.C.M., A.M.T.M., C.R.M., J.H.R., T.W.S., K.B.T., J.H.W., W.S.W., and A.W. analyzed data; and J.P.K., D.J.K., B.J.C., J.E.A.T., I.R.D., J.M.E., D.F., A.C.G., I.I.-A., J.F.J.P., N.H.L., W.C.M., A.M.T.M., C.R.M., J.H.R., K.B.T., W.S.W., and A.W. wrote the paper.

  • The authors declare no conflict of interest.

  • This article is a PNAS Direct Submission.

  • This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1073/pnas.1507146112/-/DCSupplemental.

Next
Back to top
Article Alerts
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on PNAS.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Bayesian chronological analyses consistent with synchronous age of 12,835–12,735 Cal B.P. for Younger Dryas boundary on four continents
(Your Name) has sent you a message from PNAS
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the PNAS web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Citation Tools
Synchronous age for Younger Dryas boundary
James P. Kennett, Douglas J. Kennett, Brendan J. Culleton, J. Emili Aura Tortosa, James L. Bischoff, Ted E. Bunch, I. Randolph Daniel, Jon M. Erlandson, David Ferraro, Richard B. Firestone, Albert C. Goodyear, Isabel Israde-Alcántara, John R. Johnson, Jesús F. Jordá Pardo, David R. Kimbel, Malcolm A. LeCompte, Neal H. Lopinot, William C. Mahaney, Andrew M. T. Moore, Christopher R. Moore, Jack H. Ray, Thomas W. Stafford, Kenneth Barnett Tankersley, James H. Wittke, Wendy S. Wolbach, Allen West
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Jul 2015, 201507146; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1507146112

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Request Permissions
Share
Synchronous age for Younger Dryas boundary
James P. Kennett, Douglas J. Kennett, Brendan J. Culleton, J. Emili Aura Tortosa, James L. Bischoff, Ted E. Bunch, I. Randolph Daniel, Jon M. Erlandson, David Ferraro, Richard B. Firestone, Albert C. Goodyear, Isabel Israde-Alcántara, John R. Johnson, Jesús F. Jordá Pardo, David R. Kimbel, Malcolm A. LeCompte, Neal H. Lopinot, William C. Mahaney, Andrew M. T. Moore, Christopher R. Moore, Jack H. Ray, Thomas W. Stafford, Kenneth Barnett Tankersley, James H. Wittke, Wendy S. Wolbach, Allen West
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Jul 2015, 201507146; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1507146112
Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Mendeley logo Mendeley
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: 118 (2)
Current Issue

Submit

Sign up for Article Alerts

Jump to section

  • Article
  • Figures & SI
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF

You May Also be Interested in

Abstract depiction of a guitar and musical note
Science & Culture: At the nexus of music and medicine, some see disease treatments
Although the evidence is still limited, a growing body of research suggests music may have beneficial effects for diseases such as Parkinson’s.
Image credit: Shutterstock/agsandrew.
Scientist looking at an electronic tablet
Opinion: Standardizing gene product nomenclature—a call to action
Biomedical communities and journals need to standardize nomenclature of gene products to enhance accuracy in scientific and public communication.
Image credit: Shutterstock/greenbutterfly.
One red and one yellow modeled protein structures
Journal Club: Study reveals evolutionary origins of fold-switching protein
Shapeshifting designs could have wide-ranging pharmaceutical and biomedical applications in coming years.
Image credit: Acacia Dishman/Medical College of Wisconsin.
White and blue bird
Hazards of ozone pollution to birds
Amanda Rodewald, Ivan Rudik, and Catherine Kling talk about the hazards of ozone pollution to birds.
Listen
Past PodcastsSubscribe
Goats standing in a pin
Transplantation of sperm-producing stem cells
CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing can improve the effectiveness of spermatogonial stem cell transplantation in mice and livestock, a study finds.
Image credit: Jon M. Oatley.

Similar Articles

Site Logo
Powered by HighWire
  • Submit Manuscript
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • RSS Feeds
  • Email Alerts

Articles

  • Current Issue
  • Latest Articles
  • Archive

PNAS Portals

  • Anthropology
  • Chemistry
  • Classics
  • Front Matter
  • Physics
  • Sustainability Science
  • Teaching Resources

Information

  • Authors
  • Editorial Board
  • Reviewers
  • Librarians
  • Press
  • Site Map
  • PNAS Updates

Feedback    Privacy/Legal

Copyright © 2021 National Academy of Sciences. Online ISSN 1091-6490