Hypothesis: Muon Radiation Dose and Marine Megafaunal Extinction at the End-Pliocene Supernova
| Autor: | Adrian L. Melott, Laura Paulucci, F. Marinho |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2019 |
| Předmět: |
Extinction event
Muon Extinction Mesons 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences Earth Planet Oceans and Seas Radiation dose Astronomy Extinction Biological Radiation Dosage Biota 01 natural sciences Agricultural and Biological Sciences (miscellaneous) Supernova Stars Celestial Space and Planetary Science Megafauna 0103 physical sciences Animals Evolution Planetary 010303 astronomy & astrophysics Cosmic Radiation Geology 0105 earth and related environmental sciences |
| Zdroj: | Astrobiology. 19:825-830 |
| ISSN: | 1557-8070 1531-1074 |
| DOI: | 10.1089/ast.2018.1902 |
| Popis: | Considerable data and analysis support the detection of one or more supernovae (SNe) at a distance of about 50 pc, ∼2.6 million years ago. This is possibly related to the extinction event around that time and is a member of a series of explosions that formed the Local Bubble in the interstellar medium. We build on previous work, and propagate the muon flux from SN-initiated cosmic rays from the surface to the depths of the ocean. We find that the radiation dose from the muons will exceed the total present surface dose from all sources at depths up to 1 km and will persist for at least the lifetime of marine megafauna. It is reasonable to hypothesize that this increase in radiation load may have contributed to a newly documented marine megafaunal extinction at that time. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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