[Turtle]

Originally Posted by Hill

One hypothesis about the formation of the Carolina Bays proposes that they formed such large ovals in some areas, not just because of a strike by pieces of a disintegrating comet fragments. The resulting lakes were so large because the glowing hot material, coming in at a steep angle, struck a boggy area and the steam created literally exploded large holes out of the soft wet substrate. Strikes on drier ground had much less effect. A RE-EVALUATION OF THE EXTRATERRESTRIAL ORIGIN OF THE CAROLINA BAYS

Craters aren't necessarily round, especially those formed from low angle impacts.

From Straight Dope Staff Report: Why are craters always round?

Good stuff Hill. I had not ever heard of the formations until you posted. Quoting from the first link:

Originally Posted by abob.libs.uga.edu

Meteoritic impact is no longer widely regarded as a plausible hypothesis. No meteoritic fragments have been found that are genetically related to the Carolina Bays. No known meteorite falls elsewhere in the world have resulted in approximately half a million depressions over a wide area. Studies of magnetic anomalies associated with individual bays are not conclusive (MacCarthy, 1936; Prouty, 1952). Shatter cones and high pressure changes in quartz grains associated with known impact craters are absent. The heavy mineralogy of sediments within one bay did not differ from sediments beyond the bay rim (Preston and Brown, 1964). The selective confinement of Carolina Bays to one physiographic province has also been cited as evidence against any extraterrestrial hypothesis.

By this report, the conclusion seems to point to a comet as the culprit, which is a very different beast indeed than a meteoroid/asteroid. Fascinating.

[Hill]

From Freeztar

Where exactly were these "black mats" found? Are they found at all of the Bays, or only some in a certain area?

According to the video of the press conference and the Science News article in the original post on this thread, the mat is found at many locations, including the Carolina Bays. But there are no photos posted specifically of evidence from the bays.

[freeztar]

Originally Posted by Hill

According to the video of the press conference and the Science News article in the original post on this thread, the mat is found at many locations, including the Carolina Bays. But there are no photos posted specifically of evidence from the bays.

Thanks Hill, I forgot about the video, I need to go back and watch that.

[TheBigDog]

Excellent stuff, Hill! Welcome to Hypography.

Bill

[Turtle]

Originally Posted by Hill

From Freeztar


According to the video of the press conference and the Science News article in the original post on this thread, the mat is found at many locations, including the Carolina Bays. But there are no photos posted specifically of evidence from the bays.

Sweet video! I am at part 6. Already I recognized Luann Becker at the table from the the science program she did with Mark Barlough concerning an impact 250 million years ago (the Great Dying). We have another thread on the topic of impact killing the mammoths, but that died on the vine. Now that I quick-review it, the first post is missing? >> http://hypography.com/forums/environ...oth+extinction

No matter. We can't get much more current than May, and this 12,900 year ago event is gaining attention as the evidence for a space-rock event grows.

[bigfatpothead]

After examining the Carolina bay craters I am convinced that their origin is the same as the origin of the craters all over Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma.
here is my places I saved from google earth
http://www.bigfatpothead.com/craters.kmz

I looked at the elongated craters and I followed the direction they are all pointing to. It is exactly where I say a large impact site happened in Alabama.


I was browsing google earth and found that a very large object hit the US and scraped along the surface before

Exploding in alabama and showering the midwest with huge rocks that left craters all over texas and arkansas.

Most of these craters have taken the form of small ponds.


The impact point is a hundred miles or so south east of huntsville Al.

And there is a huge impact crater that goes through 3 states.

The thing was so huge that it carved out the Appalachian mountains.

You can zoom in on them and see the serated edges of the object

Where it rolled and scraped the land.

Ronnie Smith

Originally Posted by freeztar

Good links guys!
I had never heard of oval craters on the moon or Mars.
So what does this say for Barringer's theory that shockwaves create round craters even at oblique angles? Why did he achieve these results with bullets here on earth?

Also, would the oblique angle account for such a large area of distribution?

Another theory that a colleague and I were discussing yesterday was glacial winds. In much the same way that loehrs are created, a receding glacier could have created gale force winds that carved out uni-directional divets in the topography.

Still on the fence...

[Moontanman]

Carolina bays! I live there dude! I have swam, scuba dived and fished these lakes for many years. My favorite Bay is lake Waccamaw, it is huge and one of the few that contains clear alkaline water. It was formed in a bed of limestone called marl. Most of the rest were formed in sandstone and peat. Great places lots of unusual plants animals and fish. Alligators galore!

[Turtle]

Originally Posted by bigfatpothead

After examining the Carolina bay craters I am convinced that their origin is the same as the origin of the craters all over Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma.
here is my places I saved from google earth
http://www.bigfatpothead.com/craters.kmz

I looked at the elongated craters and I followed the direction they are all pointing to. It is exactly where I say a large impact site happened in Alabama.


I was browsing google earth and found that a very large object hit the US and scraped along the surface before

Exploding in alabama and showering the midwest with huge rocks that left craters all over texas and arkansas.

Most of these craters have taken the form of small ponds.

The impact point is a hundred miles or so south east of huntsville Al.

And there is a huge impact crater that goes through 3 states.

The thing was so huge that it carved out the Appalachian mountains.

You can zoom in on them and see the serated edges of the object

Where it rolled and scraped the land.

Ronnie Smith

Ahhh the enthusiasm of new discovery! Having found what I believe is an 80 mile diameter crater in Chiuahuha State Mexico, I empathize with your plight. It's all in those other threads I linked if you care to have a look.

But, back to your finds. I have boldened your terms 'rolled' and 'scraped' because I think they don't properly describe the high-energy physics involved in an impact, particularly a large one. This is not backyard marbles.

[bigfatpothead]

I disagree, I think it is like marbles.



Roland A. Duby
Brothers For Mercy

Originally Posted by Turtle

Ahhh the enthusiasm of new discovery! Having found what I believe is an 80 mile diameter crater in Chiuahuha State Mexico, I empathize with your plight. It's all in those other threads I linked if you care to have a look.

But, back to your finds. I have boldened your terms 'rolled' and 'scraped' because I think they don't properly describe the high-energy physics involved in an impact, particularly a large one. This is not backyard marbles.

[Turtle]

Originally Posted by bigfatpothead

I disagree, I think it is like marbles.

This is a science site, so you're gonna have to do better than that. Even on the low end of entry speed, we are talking about 20 times the speed of sound. This is high energy physics, not marbles, not billiard balls, not anything you have common familiarity with in real experience.

Your hazy speculations don't make up for actual geologic field studies. Is there shocked mineral(s) in the rock you suspect is an impact site?