Cold age caused by comets, according to...diamonds?

Reuters reports that tiny nanodiamonds found throughout North America show that a “swarm of comets” hit the earth 13,000 years ago, starting a cold age that killed off mammoths and saber-toothed tigers.

Tiny diamonds sprinkled across North America suggest a “swarm” of comets hit the Earth around 13,000 years ago, kicking up enough disruption to send the planet into a cold spell and drive mammoths and other creatures into extinction, scientists reported on Friday.

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They are buried at a level that corresponds to the beginning 12,900 years ago of the Younger Dryas, a 1,300-year-long cold spell during which North American mammoths, saber-toothed cats, camels and giant sloths became extinct.

http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSTRE5013YZ20090102

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