James P. Kennett

James Peter Kennett is an American paleoceanographer. In 1986, Kennett became the founding editor of Paleoceanography, and is known for his contributions to the controversial and refuted Younger Dryas impact hypothesis which asserts that the Clovis culture was destroyed by a shower of comets. He co-authored a paper in collaboration with biblical archaeologists, who believed to have discovered the ancient city of Sodom and evidence of its destruction by a comet at Tell el-Hammam, Jordon. The paper was retracted by Nature in 2025, citing concerns about methodology, analysis, and data interpretation.