In Brief: Two Papers Retracted in New Blow to Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis

​The journal PLOS One has retracted two recent papers providing alleged evidence for the Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis, citing deceptive citations, failure to follow standard research methodology, misidentification of materials, and faulty age models and sampling strategies, among other concerns. The two papers attempted to prove that a comet airburst caused megafauna extinctions and that comet dust had been found in Baffin Bay dating back to this time, around 10,800 BCE. Taken together, the errors suggest either intentional deception or a research team so enamored of its hypothesis that they disregarded the safeguards of scientific inquiry. Only one of the co-authors agreed with one of the retractions. Many of the others, including those from the Comet Research Group, disagreed with both retractions, while PLOS One editors could not reach a plurality of the authors. The retractions are another blow to Graham Hancock’s favorite catastrophe and the broader claim that a comet impact sank Atlantis caused the Great Flood of mythology.