David Harper
Research Interests
Mass extinctions over the last 500 myr : An astronomical cause?
Author
Summary, in English
A Fourier analysis of the magnitudes and timing of the Phanerozoic mass extinctions (MEs) demonstrates that many of the periodicities claimed in other analyses are not statistically significant. Moreover we show that the periodicities associated with oscillations of the Solar System about the galactic plane are too irregular to give narrow peaks in the Fourier periodograms. This leads us to conclude that, apart from possibly a small number of major events, astronomical causes for MEs can largely be ruled out.
Department/s
- Lithosphere and Biosphere Science
Publishing year
2017-03
Language
English
Pages
159-167
Publication/Series
Palaeontology
Volume
60
Issue
2
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
Topic
- Geology
Keywords
- Astronomical processes
- Mass extinctions
- Periodicity
- Phanerozoic
Status
Published
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 0031-0239