cause of death at KT

[Scott <hmwh@together.net>]

Franklin Bliss wrote
"Disruption of the food chain, disease, climate change, fires, habitat
disruption, acid rain, competition for limited resources and other  causes
all had an effect on the overall extinction process at the K/ T. "

I'd say, for North America at least, don't forget the blast wave of the
impact as cause of death factor.

If the boys from Arizona (Marcus, Melosh, and Collins) are right in their
algorithm for computing effects of an impact, then even at 1500 kilometers
away from the site the blast wave is still traveling at 164 m/s (366 mph),
given an impact angle of 45 degrees, an impacting object density of 3000
kg/m cubed and an impact velocity of 32 km/sec (about 20 miles/s). I don't
know when the curvature of the earth sends this blast wave off overhead.

What does that heavy a blast wave do to living flesh 1500 k away from its
source? There would be shadowed areas not affected, I suppose. But if you
are a small shrewlike critter happenstancely burrowed in when the blast wave
goes overhead, what happens? Does all the air get sucked out of your burrow?

Scott Perry