Comet/Asteroid Impacts and Human Society

In 1908 an atmospheric explosion in northern Siberia released energy equivalent to 15 Mton of TNT. Can a comparable or larger NEO affect us again? When the next NEO strikes Earth will it be large enough to destroy a city? Will the climate change significantly? Can archaeology and anthropology provide insights into the expected cultural responses with NEO interactions? Does society have a true grasp of the actual risks involved? Is the Great Depression a good model for the economic collapse that could follow a NEO catastrophe? This volume provides a necessary link between various disciplines and comet/asteroid impacts.

Leading specialists in various disciplines were first invited to a multidisciplinary workshop funded by ICSU on the topic to gain a better appreciation and perspective on the subject of comet/asteroid impacts as viewed by different disciplines

Inhalt
Anthropology, Archaeology, Geology.- The Geologic Record of Destructive Impact Events on Earth.- The Archaeology and Anthropology of Quaternary Period Cosmic Impact.- The Sky on the Ground: Celestial Objects and Events in Archaeology and Popular Culture.- Umm al Binni Structure, Southern Iraq, as a Postulated Late Holocene Meteorite Impact Crater.- Tree-Rings Indicate Global Environmental Downturns that could have been Caused by Comet Debris.- The GGE Threat: Facing and Coping with Global Geophysical Events.- Astronomy and Physical Implications.- The Asteroid Impact Hazard and Interdisciplinary Issues.- The Impact Hazard: Advanced NEO Surveys and Societal Responses.- Understanding the Near-Earth Object Population: the 2004 Perspective.- Physical Properties of NEOs and Risks of an Impact: Current Knowledge and Future Challenges.- Evaluating the Risk of Impacts and the Efficiency of Risk Reduction.- Physical Effects of Comet and Asteroid Impacts: Beyond the Crater Rim.- Frequent Ozone Depletion Resulting from Impacts of Asteroids and Comets.- Tsunami as a Destructive Aftermath of Oceanic Impacts.- The Physical and Social Effects of the Kaali Meteorite Impact a Review.- The Climatic Effects of Asteroid and Comet Impacts: Consequences for an Increasingly Interconnected Society.- Nature of the Tunguska Impactor Based on Peat Material from the Explosion Area.- The Tunguska Event.- Tunguska (1908) and Its Relevance for Comet/Asteroid Impact Statistics.- Atmospheric Megacryometeor Events versus Small Meteorite Impacts: Scientific and Human Perspective of a Potential Natural Hazard.- Socio-Economic and Policy Implications.- Social Science and Near-Earth Objects: an Inventory of Issues.- Perception of Risk from Asteroid Impact.- Hazard Risk Assessment of a Near Earth Object.-Social Perspectives on Comet/Asteroid Impact (CAI) Hazards: Technocratic Authority and the Geography of Social Vulnerability.- May Land Impacts Induce a Catastrophic Collapse of Civil Societies?.- The Societal Implications of a Comet/Asteroid Impact on Earth: a Perspective from International Development Studies.- Disaster Planning for Cosmic Impacts: Progress and Weaknesses.- Insurance Coverage of Meteorite, Asteroid and Comet Impacts Issues and Options.- The Economic Consequences of Disasters due to Asteroid and Comet Impacts, Small and Large.- Communicating Impact Risk to the Public.- Impact Risk Communication Management (19982004): Has It Improved?.- Towards Rational International Policies on the NEO Hazard.- A Road Map for Creating a NEO Research Program in Developing Countries.