Cometary nature of the 1908 Tunguska cosmic body

The cometary nature of the 1908 Tunguska cosmic body is compatible with the predictions of an analytical theory of the 1908 Tunguska explosion developed in 1976–1979. The theory takes into account the three simultaneously occurring processes, namely aerodynamic destruction of the cosmic body in the Earth's atmosphere, transversal expansion of the crushed mass under the action of pressure gradient on the frontal surface of the body, and an aerodynamic deceleration of crushed expanding mass. The use, for the mechanical parameters of the Tunguska cosmic body, of the characteristics of a cometary nuclei such as that of comet Halley 1986 III and comet Shoemaker – Levy 9 1994, gives parameters of the Tunguska explosion derived from observations of Tunguska event in the Siberian taiga in 1908.

The Tunguska Event as Recorded in a Tree Trunk

A living spruce tree was collected near the explosion center of the Tunguska event that occurred in 1908. We measured annual ring width and studied anatomical features to reconstruct the possible vegetational changes caused by the biological aftereffects of the Tunguska explosion. δ14C of annual rings from 1908 to 1910 was measured with a Tandetron accelerator mass spectrometer. The annual ring width decreased rapidly in 1908–1912, drastically increased in 1913, and decreased gradually thereafter. Traumatic resin ducts were observed in the transition zone between early- and latewood of the annual ring formed in 1908. We thus reconstruct these vegetational changes in the Tunguska forest: the Tunguska explosion damaged forest trees severely for ca. 3 yr, releasing rich nutrients from burned plants into the soil, and subsequently the vegetation was stimulated to recover by decreased socio-biological competition and better lighting conditions. δ14C values range from −28.2 to −1.5% for Tunguska spruce, and from −29.7 to 12.6% for Hinoki cypress. These fluctuations are within the ranges presented in Stuiver and Becker (1993), suggesting no evidence of anomalies of cometary origin in carbon isotopic composition. We found no significant difference between δ14C of Tunguska spruce and of Hinoki cypress.