Disintegrated Comet Trail in Southern Tibet

Abstract

In southern Tibet, there is a series of lakes in the region (82°30'E, 29°N and 90°30'E, 33°N). This study indicates that these lakes were formed by the impact of a single disintegrating comet that hit the region. Observation indicates that the lakes are unusually closely aligned and have a steep slope facing circular feature on the eastern side. Fractures and faults connecting these lakes can be observed over entire subject site hinting towards the multiple impact craters. The terrain is uneven and lakes are partially filled hence in some cases do not look like circular or elliptical. These lakes vary from 1 Km to 65 Km in diameter and are linearly aligned around a single line. Studies of deuterium by Yuan et al. (2011) [1] indicate an abrupt 4‰ increase in δ18O in middle Holocene period around 6000 years ago. The study indicates that the region is rich in diamond, Coesite, Platinum Group Elements (PGE), Stishovite, tektites, and other complex alloys, as would be expected from a high energy impact of an extraterrestrial object. The possibility of the impact as one of the reasons for the diamond in this region was also suggested by Wen-Ji Bai and Qing-Song Fang (2007) [2]. However in absence of definitive evidence they favoured mantle origin. Two possible reasons of absence of impact signature are source of sample and impact pattern. First is the source of the sample which is collected from the river beds of Yarlung-Zangbo Suture Zone of Tibet which is believed to be the origin of this diamond, however it ignores the fact that these rivers get water from lakes which are in the proposed impact zone and the second reason is the impact-pattern spread over close to 800 km which is not expected from the asteroid impact. It will therefore be prudent to test samples from the lake region to understand surface distortion features to confirm the impact. Based on satellite imagery major industrial development supported by road infrastructure in the subject region near lakes and rivers originating from these lakes can be observed hinting towards placer mining activity associated with lakes (craters). Our study suggests that the diamonds, Platinum Group Elements, Stishovite and other alloys harvested from the region should be considered as comet impact diamonds rather than those created in the interior of the earth.