“What Really Happened to the Sky and Ocean during the Dark Age Period of 534 -544 A.D.” with Dallas Abbott (Nov 2010)

by admin | Jul 25, 2023 | Impact Craters

with Dallas Abbott, Originally presented 13 Nov 2010

Around 535 or 536 AD, tremendous amounts of dust filled the skies. Crops failed, and civilizations from eastern Asia, across Europe, and into Mesoamerica collapsed. The article from that “Font of All Wisdom–Wikipedia” begins, The extreme weather events of 535–536 were the most severe and protracted short-term episodes of cooling in the Northern Hemisphere in the last 2,000 years.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extreme_weather_events_of_535%E2%80%93536#Historic_consequences).

Dallas Abbott has joined us at E2C every year since 2002 to share insights about her research into impact craters beneath the oceans and their possible affect on history. Recently, Dallas has sought answers to questions surrounding the history-changing events that brought on the Dark Ages in Europe.

Introduction to this Workshop

View the introductory powerpoint

View the pdf version

Cutting-Edge Research
NEWS STORIES: “AD 536: THE YEAR THAT WINTER NEVER ENDED“
“WHY HALLEY’S COMETS MAY BE LINKED TO A FAMINE 1,500 YEARS AGO“ (12/18/13)
“THE YEAR OF DARKNESS” by Colin Barras (New Scientist, 18 Jan 2014) ad536_pdf
Classroom Resources

LESSON PLAN: “BLAST FROM THE PAST – IMPACT CRATERS”
[An “Earth2Class Workshops for Teacher” Module]
Created by: Mirtha Landaira, Lawrence Leung, and Linda McCall
E2C Summer Curriculum Development Workshop, Summer 2004

Other Resources for This Topic

WEB SITES ABOUT IMPACT CRATERS

Terrestrial Impact Craters site—Calvin J. Hamilton
http://www.solarviews.com/eng/tercrate.htm

Educator’s Guide to Impact Craters
http://www.solarviews.com/eng/edu/craters.htm

Asteroid and Comet Impact Hazards
http://impact.arc.nasa.gov/index.html

Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/SIC/impact_cratering/intro/

Terrestrial Impact Craters, 2^nd ed. by Christian Koeberl and Virgil L. Sharpton
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/publications/slidesets/craters/

Hawai’i Space Grant College Teacher Page
http://www.spacegrant.hawaii.edu/class_acts/CratersTe.html

http://www.spacegrant.hawaii.edu/class_acts/CrateringDoc.html

Impact Cratering on a Rainy Day
http://www.teacherlink.usu.edu/tlnasa/units/PlanetaryGeology/9.pdf

Explore Craters
http://www.kidscosmos.org/kid-stuff/craters.html

“Crater Crazy” by Andrea Gianopoulos
http://www.astronomy.com/content/static/parentsteachers/activities/cratercrazy.asp

Asteroid impact craters could cradle life (NewScientist.com, 10 Sep 2004)
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn6383

SELECTED WEB SITES ABOUT TSUNAMIS

US Geological Survey Southeast Asia FAQ

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqinthenews/2004/usslav/neic_slav_faq.html

USGS Tsunami Information Links
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/bytopic/tsunami.html

Unearthing Proof of a Tsunami in the Northwest

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4629401

University of Washington “Tsunami!”

http://www.geophys.washington.edu/tsunami/intro.html

USGS Coastal & Marine Geology Program
http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/tsunami/

FEMA Hazards—Tsunamis
http://www.fema.gov/hazards/tsunamis/
NWS Tsunami Awareness Page
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/er/okx/tsunami.html

SELECTED WEB SITES ABOUT NEW ZEALAND AND PACIFIC TSUNAMIS

DID A BOLIDE IMPACT CAUSE CATASTROPHIC TSUNAMIS IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND?
ABBOTT, Dallas H.¹, MATZEN, Andrew¹, BRYANT, Edward A.², and PEKAR, Stephen F.¹
(1) Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, PO Box 1000, Palisades, NY 10964-8000, dallas@ldeo.columbia.edu, (2) Faculty of Science, Univ of Wollongong, Wollongong, 2522, Australia
http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2003AM/finalprogram/abstract_65239.htm

New Zealand Hazard Watch
http://www.gns.cri.nz/hazardwatch/latest/index.html

Tsunami Sites in New Zealand
http://www.usc.edu/dept/tsunamis/newzealand/

Pacific Tsunami Warning Center
http://www.prh.noaa.gov/ptwc/abouttsunamis.htm

Impact Simulation Model suggested by Dallas Abbott:
“Earth Impact Effects Program”: an easy-to-use, interactive web site for estimating the regional environmental consequences of an impact on Earth http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/impacteffects/

Hawai’i Space Grant College Teacher Page
http://www.spacegrant.hawaii.edu/class_acts/CratersTe.html

http://www.spacegrant.hawaii.edu/class_acts/CrateringDoc.html

Impact Cratering on a Rainy Day
http://www.teacherlink.usu.edu/tlnasa/units/PlanetaryGeology/9.pdf

Explore Craters
http://www.kidscosmos.org/kid-stuff/craters.html

“Crater Crazy” by Andrea Gianopoulos
http://www.astronomy.com/content/static/parentsteachers/activities/cratercrazy.asp

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Of course, the best way to find useful materials for your students is through a DLESE search:
www.dlese.org