A living research archive
Younger Dryas Impact Research Library
Find the papers. Follow the evidence. Explore the debate.
Compiled and curated by Australian geoarchaeologist Marc Young, in collaboration with George Howard and the Cosmic Tusk. This library brings the bibliography’s citations, paper links, and editorial assessments into one searchable place.
Browse the bibliography ↓New: research graphics ↓Open / download the master spreadsheet ↗Download reference data (JSON)
362Imported references · both worksheets
1996–2026Publication years represented
October 8, 2026Website snapshot imported
New The Bib in perspective
The debate in graphics
Three views of a growing body of research.
Viewpoints over time
How the bibliography’s editorial assessments vary by publication year. Includes comments and replies.
Publication cadence
Annual entries, with comments and replies shown separately.
Beyond peer-reviewed literature
Annual activity in the non-peer-reviewed collection.
Extraterrestrial nanoparticle signatures at the Younger Dryas Boundary (~ 12,800 years ago) from Wonderkrater, South Africa
Holliday et al. (2023): Systematic misrepresentations of Younger Dryas Impact evidence undermine the reliability of their critique
Impact-related proxies, environmental change, and faunal extinctions across the Younger Dryas Boundary in Hall's Cave, Texas
Microspherules, meltglass, and nanoparticles from the Younger Dryas boundary layer at White Pond, USA
Platinum-group elements, shocked quartz, and nanodiamonds in a Greenland ice-margin sequence at the Younger Dryas onset
Preliminary evidence for possible extraterrestrial material in bottom sediments from periglacial Lake Onega (Karelia, Russia)
Preventing and correcting spread of misinformation about near-Earth objects, impacts, airbursts, and planetary defense: Case studies
Stratigraphic separation of Laacher See tephra and a discrete Younger Dryas Boundary fallout layer in southernmost Sweden
The language of opposition: A quantitative analysis of four papers critical of the Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis
A possible volcanic origin for the Greenland ice core Pt anomaly near the Bolling-Allerod/Younger Dryas boundary
Allerod-Younger Dryas Boundary (12.9-12.8 ka) as a "new" geochronological marker in Late Glacial sediments of the Eastern Baltic region
Antarctic New Mountain paleosol 828: Record of glacial activity, weathering and postulated cosmic airburst event
Record & paper →Full text not linked in source
Cryo-paleosols and paleoclimate/cosmic archives in the Dry Valleys, Antarctica
Record & paper →Full text not linked in source
Discovery of Laacher See eruption in speleotherm record synchronizes Greenland and central European Late Glacial climate change
Evidence of a 12,800-year-old shallow airburst depression in Louisiana with large deposits of shocked quartz and melted minerals
Geochemical re-evaluation supports cosmic impact rather than volcanism at Younger Dryas onset, Hall's Cave, Texas: Reply to Sun et al. 2020
Late Pleistocene-Holocene mammalian body size change in Jordan's Azraq Basin: A case for climate driven species distribution shifts
Low-temperature dissociation of zircon in highly alkaline conditions: A cautionary note for studies on natural glasses of debated origin
New evidence of high pressure, high temperature processes at the site of the 1908 Tunguska event: Implications for impact and airburst phenomena
Retracted: A 12,800-year-old layer with cometary dust, microspherules and platinum anomaly recorded in multiple cores from Baffin Bay
Retracted: Shock-fractured quartz at the Younger Dryas onset (12.8 ka) supports cosmic airbursts/impacts contributing to North American megafaunal extinctions and collapse of the Clovis technocomplex
Trigonal Fe2Si from the Blackville site, South Carolina, USA: Occurrence, composition and determination of the crystal structure
A planet crossing the fragment chain of a large comet
An air-fall ash layer in the Grotta dei Baffoni cave in the Frasassi Gorge (Marche Apennine, Italy): Relevance to the Younger Dryas debate
About the classifications
Assessments follow Marc Young and George Howard’s editorial classifications. “Neutral; evidence supports” describes their reading of evidence in a paper with a neutral stated position. Hiawatha and Taurid labels identify related research topics.
Each reference retains the workbook’s notes, source worksheet, and publication-status description. Citation exports preserve the source author names.
The original spreadsheet
Marc’s workbook remains the master source. Use Excel’s File menu to download a copy. If Microsoft’s embedded viewer does not load, open the workbook directly.
Original spreadsheet viewer
Follow the research
Explore the evidence
Ten categories. Different measurements. Questions worth following.
01 · Identify the material02 · Establish the timing03 · Test the explanation
Select a row to open its reading list. Compare what researchers examine with what must be established to connect an observation to an impact.
Selected reading from The Bib, grouped by evidence and research question.
Material evidenceParticles, chemistry & isotopes
MicrospherulesWhat researchers examineParticle abundance, composition, and microscopic textures.The question to testDo the particles record an impact, and can the findings be reproduced with comparable sampling methods?4 papers
Melt glassWhat researchers examineGlass chemistry, mineral inclusions, and evidence of melting.The question to testWhat heating process produced the glass, and which observations distinguish competing explanations?3 papers
Carbon-rich particlesWhat researchers examineCarbon spherules, glass-like carbon, soot, PAHs, and fullerenes.The question to testAre the materials correctly identified, and does their origin distinguish an impact from other processes?3 papers
NanodiamondsWhat researchers examineCrystal structure, particle identification, and abundance through a sediment sequence.The question to testAre the grains diamonds, are they concentrated at the boundary, and is their presence diagnostic of an impact?4 papers
IridiumWhat researchers examineElement concentrations relative to background sediment and other platinum-group elements.The question to testIs an enrichment reproducible, and does the full geochemical pattern identify its source?4 papers
PlatinumWhat researchers examinePlatinum peaks in ice and sediments, and their position relative to dated layers.The question to testDo the peaks represent the same event, and what separates extraterrestrial, volcanic, and local sources?4 papers
OsmiumWhat researchers examineOsmium isotope ratios together with highly siderophile element abundances.The question to testWhich source or mixture fits the measurements, and how does sampling resolution affect the interpretation?4 papers
Other elements & isotopesWhat researchers examineNi, Co, Cr, Th, rare-earth elements, and ¹⁴C, ¹⁰Be, ²⁶Al.The question to testWhat is each measurement testing? These different tracers require separate source and background models.3 papers
Environmental changeProposed effects and their chronology
Biomass burningWhat researchers examineCharcoal, soot, and other burning indicators across dated records.The question to testWas burning unusually widespread and synchronous, and what establishes the proposed cause?5 papers
Extinctions & human populationsWhat researchers examineFossil occurrences, archaeological records, and estimates of population change.The question to testWhen and where did changes occur, and how can a causal connection be distinguished from coincidence?4 papers
Literature review videos
Sixteen installments from Dr. Martin Sweatman’s literature-review series. Select a thumbnail to watch on YouTube.
Help improve The Bib
Found a missing paper, correction, or broken link? Include the title, DOI or publication URL, and a short explanation when you contact George Howard or Marc through your existing correspondence.
Please credit Marc Young, George Howard, and the Cosmic Tusk when reusing the bibliography. Explore William I. Thompson III’s historical catastrophism bibliography for additional earlier literature.