Thursday, August 5, 2010

Gamma Ray Burst for Ordovician?





I suppose the good news is that this does not occur too often.  That it may have occurred once is nasty.  At least we can put it on the list of prospects.

The good news is that it may be a little more survivable by the simple expedient of grabbing some form of initial shelter to avoid severe sunburn. 

This article makes an issue of the loss of plankton, yet it seems that plankton would recover its population way swifter than any actual losses accumulate sufficiently to cause problems.

In short, a GRB will cause damage in the short term but nothing that cannot be swiftly recovered from, unless it is sufficient to increase the atmospheric temperature beyond normal survivability. Such would also add a few degrees to the surface layer of the ocean but defense is as simple as going deeper.

Our Earth is far more resilient than we often assume.

Gamma-ray burst could kill off ocean life

Jul 23, 2010



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