Paper: astro-ph/0606325
Date: Tue, 13 Jun 2006 19:38:53 GMT (81kb)

Title: Fossil Biodiversity: Red Noise Plus Signal

Authors: Adrian L. Melott and Bruce S. Lieberman (University of Kansas)

Comments: 3 page comment including one figure
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We have examined the Fourier power spectrum as well as the Hurst exponent of
extinction, origination, and total biodiversity in the marine fossil record,
using a recently improved geologic timescale. We find all of them strongly
inconsistent with past claims of self-similarity as well as inconsistent with
random walk behavior. Instead, they are dominated by low-frequency power, with
approximate f^-2 power over one decade in frequency. The spectrum turns over at
about 10^5 y, lending plausibility to connections with galactic dynamics. Even
in the background of this low-frequency dominance, a previously noted 62 My
biodiversity cycle stands out with better than 99% confidence above the noise
level, accounting for about 35% of the total variance in the fossil
biodiversity record.

\\ ( http://arXiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0606325 , 81kb)