Anomalous Landforms as Terrestrial Ejecta
Please reference the sub pages in the index on the left to explore this topic further.
Using the Carolina bays and the Goldsboro Ridge as examples, we propose set of physical characteristics for the manifestation of the Perigee: Zero Ejecta Landforms. These characteristics are tightly constrained by the formative processes and circumstances, resulting in a simple, well-defined and unique set of identification criteria to describe these formations. The stylistic geometry and anomalous, unstratified, and homogeneous nature of these landforms are presented as being most indicative of set membership. The typical PZ ejecta landforms are visualized as a pear-shaped, oval or elliptical landform, which sets above the surrounding landscape as a knoll, hill, or island. The figure below demonstrates the emplacement dynamics. The graphic is hyper-linked to a flash demonstration.
Flash Demonstration of Ejecta Emplacement
A series of experiments were conducted to demonstrate the physical process. The results are presented in the Technology section of the treatise.
Quite often the central area of the PZ ejecta slumps upon emplacement, and this slump is manifested as a body of water as it fills over time. We also present these pear-shaped structures existent underwater using various underwater imaging techniques. The scale of observed landforms range from ephemeral pools of a few meters on the major axis, to massive structures such as the Adirondack Mountains. Our research has shown that the emplacements slam onto the earth and typically remain at that location. Examples have been found on seafloor beds where an entire structure slides along the trajectory after initial contact, leaving a discernable trail in the soft surface sediments.
The two major parameters that affect the visualized shape of specific PZ ejecta landforms are the angle of incidence and the hydration ratio. Shallower arrival angles will yield a higher length to width ratio, and wetter material will slump to a greater degree that stiffer, dryer ejecta material. The underlying terrestrial landscape will influence the visualized ejecta shape, such that the stylized shape would be “broken” over terrain that was much rougher than the emplaced material thickness, or too steep to retain the ejecta intact. Nevertheless, we strongly suggest that the resulting PZ ejecta landforms are seen to retain the suggested geometry across the entire range of landform sizes, thereby facilitating the recognition of the ejecta using remote imaging techniques.
The standardized template used to identify and validate a proposed structure is shown below. The outline is used by us in the Google Earth facility as an overlay to discriminate ejecta deposits.
Generic PZ Ejecta Overlay
Using the identification criteria, we have selected a broad sample of PZ ejecta structures for presentation. Research has extended far beyond the documented locale of the Carolina bays. We present supportive evidence of their existence throughout the globe. Significant fields of ejecta are noted in Argentina, South Africa and Southwestern Australia.
It is our opinion that the majority of naturally occurring fresh water bodies are comet crater or ejecta structures created over the past 13,000 years. Further, when considering the “standing” variety of ejecta, the surface of the earth is seen as extensively covered by ejecta.
We present here an example of the classic oval/teardrop shape ejecta. Oneka Lake is in the St. Paul area, one of many that exhibits the ejecta form.
Bodies of water can be manifested as a composite accretion of multiple droplets of ejecta. One such assemblage is seen in Lake Pontchartrain, LA just north of New Orleans.
Lake Pontchartrain, LA
The generalized shape is most easily recognized when the emplacement is on a sold, level foundation. This is especially true if it is a thin veneer of ejecta, vs. a dense divot. Here is a GE composite from the Argentina ejecta gallery that suggests a fairly slushy splash composition.
Slushy splash composition
Given a very flat surface, even a very thin veneer of ejecta splash can be identified. Here is another GE composite from Argentina.
Thin veneer of ejecta splash
The hypothesis suggests that when the ejecta are less hydrous, a “standing” landform results. These are manifested as various mounds, knolls, ridges, hills and mountains. The accretive nature of PZ ejecta suggests that overlapping ejecta emplacements may cover large areas. In larger emplacements, this may result in gross layering of thick megabreccias, with components arriving from different ejection points, with varying compositions.
Locating standing ejects is more challenging than the water bearing forms. One approach is to simply search for landforms that have suggestive name, such as “sand hill”, or “Indian Mound”, such as “Spirit Mound”, located in Vermillion, SD.
A standing PZ Ejecta shape that has landed in water can be easily identified. The most charismatic of these is perhaps the "Spur" of Italy's peninsula. Here is a perspective view of the proposed emplacement. A KMZ file is available here and from the downloads page.
The process of emplacement is augmented by accretion. The composite land-forms produced can be quite varied in geography. An example is shown here and in a Proof Set, which is discussed in that section. The Metropolitan area of Koebenhagen (Copenhagen) is shown in this graphic, highlighted in GE with generic PZ Ejecta overlays.
Another possible 'level" landing site would be the ocean bottom. If the depth exceeds the standing height of the ejecta emplacement, the structure will stay submerged. If the depth is close to the "peaks" of the ejecta, islands will result. We propose that the Bahamas, off the south East coast of North America, exhibits the generic PZ ejecta structure, although most of it is under the surface of the water. Th Google Earth presentation is below.
The Bahamas
While the stylized oval/teardrop shape is seen as the primary visualized form of ejecta, in the process of the investigation we have identified an additional way in which ejecta can be materialized. Several landforms are indicative of being “in the wrong place”, although they do not exhibit the expected shape. These specific landforms are seen as very sharp-edged bodies of land that are out of orientation with their surroundings. We propose that these are “divots”, that is chunks of strata that has been undermined, raised, rotated and shifted by a passing comet body during a trenching event. One such example is Isla Ti Buron in the Gulf of California, shown bellow, with higher resolution file linked.
Isla Ti Buron Divot
PZ research has identified the chunk of limestone that rests unconformably on the land in Athens, Greece, as being a PZ ejecta divot. The Acropolis is discussed in the Building Sites section of cultural enigmas.
Perhaps the most identifiable "misplaced" solid block of rock we suggest is ejecta is "Uluru", located in Australia's Kata Tjuta National Park. More commonly know as Ayers Rock, is usually viewed from a low angle.
Uluru in profile
An aerial view using Google Earth displays Uluru's fluted structure, possibly created by the massive blast of hydrated ejecta wave which delivered it to this location and then washed over it. The proposed cratering location is located to the SE of this site, with the blast wave moving from the lower right of this picture to the upper left.
Uluru in Google Earth