| Preface | 5 |
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| Contents | 8 |
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| Contributors | 19 |
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| Anthropology, Archaeology, Geology | 25 |
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| The Geologic Record of Destructive Impact Events on Earth | 26 |
| The Archaeology and Anthropology of Quaternary Period Cosmic Impact | 48 |
| The Sky on the Ground: Celestial Objects and Events in Archaeology and Popular Culture | 94 |
| Umm al Binni Structure, Southern Iraq, as a Postulated Late Holocene Meteorite Impact Crater | 111 |
| Tree-Rings Indicate Global Environmental Downturns that could have been Caused by Comet Debris | 126 |
| The GGE Threat: Facing and Coping with Global Geophysical Events | 144 |
| Astronomy and Physical Implications | 163 |
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| The Asteroid Impact Hazard and Interdisciplinary Issues | 164 |
| The Impact Hazard: Advanced NEO Surveys and Societal Responses | 182 |
| Understanding the Near-Earth Object Population: the 2004 Perspective | 193 |
| Physical Properties of NEOs and Risks of an Impact: Current Knowledge and Future Challenges | 206 |
| Evaluating the Risk of Impacts and the Efficiency of Risk Reduction | 219 |
| Physical Effects of Comet and Asteroid Impacts: Beyond the Crater Rim | 227 |
| Frequent Ozone Depletion Resulting from Impacts of Asteroids and Comets | 241 |
| Tsunami as a Destructive Aftermath of Oceanic Impacts | 262 |
| The Physical and Social Effects of the Kaali Meteorite Impact – a Review | 279 |
| The Climatic Effects of Asteroid and Comet Impacts: Consequences for an Increasingly Interconnected Society | 290 |
| Nature of the Tunguska Impactor Based on Peat Material from the Explosion Area | 303 |
| The Tunguska Event | 314 |
| Tunguska (1908) and Its Relevance for Comet/ Asteroid Impact Statistics | 342 |
| Atmospheric Megacryometeor Events versus Small Meteorite Impacts: Scientific and Human Perspective of a Potential Natural Hazard | 351 |
| Socio-Economic and Policy Implications | 362 |
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| Social Science and Near-Earth Objects: an Inventory of Issues | 363 |
| Perception of Risk from Asteroid Impact | 376 |
| Hazard Risk Assessment of a Near Earth Object | 390 |
| Social Perspectives on Comet/ Asteroid Impact ( CAI) Hazards: Technocratic Authority and the Geography of Social Vulnerability | 406 |
| May Land Impacts Induce a Catastrophic Collapse of Civil Societies? | 425 |
| The Societal Implications of a Comet/ Asteroid Impact on Earth: a Perspective from International Development Studies | 443 |
| Disaster Planning for Cosmic Impacts: Progress and Weaknesses | 454 |
| Insurance Coverage of Meteorite, Asteroid and Comet Impacts – Issues and Options | 474 |
| The Economic Consequences of Disasters due to Asteroid and Comet Impacts, Small and Large | 484 |
| Communicating Impact Risk to the Public | 499 |
| Impact Risk Communication Management ( 1998– 2004): Has It Improved? | 509 |
| Towards Rational International Policies on the NEO Hazard | 524 |
| A Road Map for Creating a NEO Research Program in Developing Countries | 530 |
| Index | 536 |
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