Editor's Summary
17 May 2007
Bay watch
The origin of the Carolina Bays, a string of shallow depressions along the Atlantic coast from Delaware to Florida, has puzzled geologists for many years. The most widely accepted theory is that many forces, including erosion, combined to form the bays — named not for a watery appearance but for a tendency to host bay trees. Of late, a startling alternative explanation has gained ground. This proposes that a comet or meteorite exploded over the northern ice cap about 13,000 years ago, showering debris across the continent and also causing the Younger Dryas cold snap.
News Feature: Archaeology: Blast in the past?
A controversial new idea suggests that a big space rock exploded on or above North America at the end of the last ice age. Rex Dalton reports.
doi:10.1038/447256a