If Hollywood has taught us anything over the past decade, it’s that no matter what, humanity can overcome any obstacle an underpaid writing staff can come up with. Take the 1998 Oscar-nominated film, Armageddon, for example. Not only did it present us with a compelling Romeo and Juliet drama between natural thespian Liv Tyler and a shirtless Ben Affleck, but it also awakened America to the most significant impending threat to our modern world: a giant asteroid destroying the planet. While Hollywood may have painted a slightly exaggerated picture by putting us at the same risk as the dinosaurs, the reality may be just as frightening. Planet-destroying asteroids are best saved for the silver screen, because the real threat is a meteorite large enough to significantly damage, if not completely annihilate an entire metropolitan city. Lucky for us, the UnMuseum maintains in a 1997 article that scientists estimate an object large enough to destroy a city only hits the earth once a century. Phew! But wait, according to the Geoscience Research institute in a 1982 article, 2008 marks the one hundred year anniversary of what researchers have recently discovered could be the largest meteorite impact in recorded history. The article continues to explain that in 1908, a large explosion wiped out forty square miles of Siberian forest in Tunguska, Russia. Accounts of the explosion claimed it to be anything from a nuclear blast to an alien attack, however, recent studies have shown that the culprit was most likely a meteorite impact, an event that, very soon, could once again threaten our planet. I know this isn’t exactly innovation, but I’ve come across a lot of information on this event lately and I think it’s funny that with all of our technological prowess these days, there seems to be nothing we can do about a real catastrophic event.
Hundreds of people witnessed the meteorite’s Russian debut, confused at what exactly was happening. The November, 2007 issue of Astronomy Magazine reports that on June 30, 1908, an object was spotted flying over western China around 7 am, and a few minutes later, a colossal flash lit up the sky over Siberia. The impact could be heard 500 miles away, and the shockwave knocked people off their feet in nearby villages. Accounts claim that the force was even felt on the other side of the planet in Washington D.C. Surprisingly, even though 40 square miles of Tunguska forest were destroyed, and 800 square miles were scorched, there were no reported humyn injuries. According to the December 29, 2007 National Post, the Tunguska explosion has been blamed on everything from Nicola Tesla and his outlandish experiments, to aliens attacking to the earth. However, the 1934 issue of the Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological society notes that a scientist named F.J.W. Whipple developed the Meteorite impact theory, explaining that a comet, made mostly of ice and dust could have caused the explosion, leaving behind little to no evidence, other than Lake Cheko, the potential impact crater. Researchers pursued this theory, and according to the New Scientist on October 5, 2002, in 1958, an independent team led by Kiril Florensky found evidence that discredited Whipple’s theory. This apparently didn’t sit well with Florensky because four years, later, he went back, and according to his 1963 article in Meteoritica, resolved that the meteorite actually exploded mid-air, vaporizing most evidence, and thus Lake Cheko could still potentially be the impact crater. Now, while these conclusions were made over 40 years ago with relatively limited technology, National Geographic News reports on November 7, 2007, that by using advanced acoustic imagery, a group of Italian scientists have investigated the bottom of Lake Cheko, concluding that its unique, round, cone-shaped structure, is surprising, but undeniable evidence of a low-impact crater.
After a century, the focus has shifted from what caused this to how could the Tunguska meteorite have impacted our planet, specifically through atmospheric changes, as well as the potential destruction of a more populated area. First, according to Science Daily on March 14, 2006, Vladimir Shaidurov of the Russian Academy of Sciences claims that a natural disaster, such as the 1908 meteorite impact, could have jump-started global warming. The January 22, 2008 Green Lantern explains that a little known, but undisputed fact is that ninety-eight percent of the Greenhouse Effect is caused by water vapor in our air. It continues to note, that since the natural evaporation of water is not caused by humyns, this effect could be part of the earth’s life cycle. However, the March 17 2006 Science a-go-go notes that Shaidurov’s studies show that if a massive amount of water was introduced into the atmosphere, such as the explosion of a giant, icy meteorite, it would severely disrupt this cycle, and have an even larger effect in the advancement of global warming than the amount of CO2 that humyns put into the air. So while we wait around like good little Americans for Al Gore’s next prize winning documentary on the dangers of icy meteorites, we can discuss the effects of an impact such as this upon a more densely populated area. The Economist claims on July 23rd 2007 that while the chances of these impacts are small, a meteorite even a few meters wide could level a city. While, in 1908, the meteorite only incinerated a few unlucky reindeer, ABC News maintains on January 29, 2008, that if there was to be another incident of this nature in a metropolitan area today, the devastation could significantly damage our economy and society. In fact, had the Tunguska event occurred exactly 4 hours and 47 minutes earlier, the entire city of St. Petersburg would have been destroyed. Or had it been twelve hours earlier, New York would have wiped off the map. Since statistics show that there is another impact on the horizon, we need to consider the economic chaos that could potentially occur, in light of recent disasters such as India’s tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, or even 9/11. Since backlash such as this is an actual possibility, meteorites like the one that impacted Tunguska should not be written off as a special effect.
This impact occurred a century ago, but has had effects that we’re only experiencing, or even considering, today. However, the implications of this newfound knowledge have opened our eyes to possibilities we have yet to explore. First, Tunguska is evidence of an actual event that potentially altered our global climate. We, as a society, are rarely exposed to assertions that fall outside the mainstream way of thinking about global warming. However, as Slate.com reports on January 22, 2008, only two percent of greenhouse gasses come from pollution we’re so often condemned for creating. While the recent popularization of the “Green Movement” has made us so environmentally conscious that even hippies are getting sick of it, this discovery opens up the opportunity to reconsider our approach to the solution towards reversing the Greenhouse Effect. What solution, you may ask? Who knows? Although, when we consider how this has affected our climate, we need to understand the implications of an unprepared response to a similar natural disaster. Primarily, you have to wonder, how do you prepare for the nearly unpredictable? A hurricane will always occur on the coast or over the ocean. A tornado will most likely be in the Midwest. But a meteorite impact is completely random. Every site on the planet has the same chance of being an impact zone. However, if a response plan were ever developed to handle such a disaster, the flexibility could be invaluable to our society. But think about it, can our lack of interest and hesitance to consider this an actual threat be attributed to the fact that it happened over 10,000 miles away? If the Tunguska meteorite was the Michigan meteorite, or the Austin meteorite, we would most likely be more anxious to figure out the truth, and the potential impacts of the event. However, since the September 25, 2007 Flight International informs us that NASA is facing massive budget cuts, we need to use the evidence at our hands today to understand such issues, because who knows how long we may have until we’re faced with them once again.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m all about watching movies where giant asteroids are headed towards earth in the hopes that Ben Affleck and Liv Tyler get caught at Ground Zero. But, as unbelievable as it may seem, when a real-life meteorite can potentially destroy an entire city we can’t just write it off as fantasy. With the knowledge that we’ve gained from the Tunguska event, we may find ourselves more prepared for reality.
--Roger
No comments:
Post a Comment