The 1908 Tunguska Catastrophe: a forming kimberlite ?
by
Wolfgang Kundt
Institut fuer Astrophysik der Universitaet Bonn

Some 20 reasons will be presented of why the fiery Siberian event of 30

June 1908, near the Stony Tunguska river, was not caused by the infall

of a stony asteroid, nor of an (icy) comet, but rather by the tectonic

ejection of some 10 Mton of natural gas. For the tectonic (outflow) interpretation, estimates are presented of the involved mass and kinetic

energy of the vented natural gas, of its outflow timescale, supersonic

and subsonic ranges, and buoyant escape towards the exosphere. The Tunguska event may well have been the present-day formation of a kimberlite.

Date received: March 30, 2002