| Abstract: | The bombardment of the oceans by asteroids and comets leads to the propagation of very large waves—superwaves. On approaching continental margins, superwaves may grow to heights large enough to spill on to the land, flooding extensive areas of continental lowland. The waters from these superfloods, in running back to the sea, would be capable of carrying out enormous amounts of work, possibly diverting rivers, cutting gorges, forming valley meanders, and leading to the widespread aggradation of coarse deposits produced by incoming superwaves stripping the soil and regolith cover and denuding weathered bedrock. Calculations of the magnitude and frequency of superfloods, based on current asteroidal impact rates, indicate that the superflooding of continental margins, including the British Isles, could have occurred several times since the start of the Pliocene. Thus, there seems to be a case for reviving some of the views of the old diluvialists, and exploring the worth of neodiluvialism as a system of Earth surface history. |
