Catastrophic events caused by cosmic objects

Abstract

An asteroid or comet will inevitably strike the Earth some day, and potentially cause great destruction. This volume considers hazards due to collisions with cosmic objects, particularly in light of recent investigations of impacts by the authors. It places emphasis on fairly small impacting objects, those 50 -100 m in diameter which pose a real threat to humanity, and their influence on the atmosphere and ionosphere. Each chapter, written by an expert, contains an overview of an aspect and new findings in the field. Coverage describes and numerically estimates the main hazardous effects, including cratering, shock, aerial and seismic waves, fires, ejection of dust and soot, and tsunami. It also includes numerical simulations of impacts and impact consequences. In addition, the book features special chapters are devoted to the famous 1908 Tunguska event and new results of its simulations, bolides in the atmosphere and impacts on the early Earth. © 2008 Springer. All Rights Reserved.