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Mass extinctions over the last 500 myr: an astronomical cause?

Erlykin, Anatoly D.; Harper, David A.T.; Sloan, Terry; Wolfendale, Arnold W.

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Authors

Anatoly D. Erlykin

Terry Sloan

Arnold W. Wolfendale



Abstract

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.

Citation

Erlykin, A. D., Harper, D. A., Sloan, T., & Wolfendale, A. W. (2017). Mass extinctions over the last 500 myr: an astronomical cause?. Palaeontology, 60(2), 159-167. https://doi.org/10.1111/pala.12283

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jan 19, 2017
Online Publication Date Feb 13, 2017
Publication Date Mar 1, 2017
Deposit Date Mar 15, 2017
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Palaeontology
Print ISSN 0031-0239
Electronic ISSN 1475-4983
Publisher Wiley
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 60
Issue 2
Pages 159-167
DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/pala.12283

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Accepted Journal Article (742 Kb)
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Copyright Statement
This is the accepted version of the following article: Erlykin, Anatoly D. and Harper, David A. T. and Sloan, Terry and Wolfendale, Arnold W. (2017) 'Mass extinctions over the last 500 myr : an astronomical cause?', Palaeontology., 60 (2). pp. 159-167 which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/pala.12283. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance With Wiley Terms and Conditions for self-archiving.




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