[meteorite-list] Gamma Ray Burst caused mass extinction? (With URLs to PDF Files)

[Paul]

Gamma-Ray Burst Caused Mass Extinction? Anne Minard 
National Geographic News, April 3, 2009, 
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/04/090403-gamma-ray-extinction.html

There are a number of papers about this hypothesis. 

Melott, A.L., B.S. Lieberman, C.M. Laird, L.D. Martin, 
M.V. Medvedev, B.C. Thomas, J.K. Cannizzo, N. Gehrels, 
and C.H. Jackman, 2004, Did a gamma-ray burst initiate 
the late Ordovician mass extinction? International 
Journal of Astrobiology, vol. 3, pp. 55-61.
http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=240775 

The PDF file is at http://arxiv.org/pdf/astro-ph/0309415

Thomas, B.C. C.H.. Jackman, A.L. Melott, C.M. Laird, RS. 
Stolarski, N. Gehrels, J.K. Cannizzo, and D.P. Hogan, 2005. 
Terrestrial Ozone Depletion due to a Milky Way Gamma Ray 
Burst. The Astrophysical Journal Letters. vol. 622, no. 2, 
pp. L153–L156. 
http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/429799


The PDF file is at http://arxiv.org/pdf/astro-ph/0411284 

Dar, A. and A. De Rujula, 2002, The threat to life from 
Eta Carinae and gamma ray bursts. Astrophysics and 
Gamma Ray Physics in Space. Frascati Physics Series Vol. 24 
pp. 513-523 http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0110162

PDF file at http://arxiv.org/pdf/astro-ph/0110162v2

Thomas, B.C., A.L. Melott1, C.H. Jackman, C.M. Laird, M.V. 
Medvedev, R.S.. Stolarski, N. Gehrels, J.K. Cannizzo, D.P. 
Hogan, and L.M. Ejzak, 2005, Gamma-Ray Bursts and the 
Earth: Exploration of Atmospheric, Biological, Climatic and 
Biogeochemical Effects. The Astrophysical Journal.
vol. 634, pp. 509-533 http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0505472

PDF file at http://arxiv.org/pdf/astro-ph/0505472

A.L. Melott and B.C.Thomas, Late Ordovician geographic 
patterns of extinction compared with simulations of 
astrophysical ionizing radiation damage. 

PDf file at http://arxiv.org/pdf/0809.0899

Gamma-Ray Bursts as a Threat to Life on Earth
by B. C. Thomas. http://arxiv.org/pdf/0903.4710

Gamma-ray burst
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma_ray_burst

Yours, 

Paul H.