Evidence for cometary bombardment episodes

Evidence is found that large terrestrial impacts tend to cluster in discrete episodes, with characteristic separations 25–30 Myr and durations of about 1–2 Myr. The largest impactors are strongly concentrated within such events, and the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinctions occurred within one of them. The evidence also indicates the presence of a weak periodicity, which might be ∼24, ∼35 or ∼42 Myr depending on which peaks are taken as harmonics. The periodicity is most easily explained as a result of the action of the Galactic tide on the Oort comet cloud. The two longer period solutions are consistent with Galactic density estimates and with the current passage of the Solar system through the plane of the Galaxy. Other episodes may be a result of sporadic encounters with spiral arms, nebulae or stars.