TY - JOUR
T1 - Chicxulub impact predates K-T boundary
T2 - New evidence from Brazos, Texas
AU - Keller, Gerta
AU - Adatte, Thierry
AU - Berner, Zsolt
AU - Harting, Markus
AU - Baum, Gerald
AU - Prauss, Michael
AU - Tantawy, Abdel
AU - Stueben, Doris
N1 - Funding Information:
We gratefully acknowledge the drilling crew of DOSECC and logging support from Schlumberger during two drilling phases. We thank Andrew Kerr and one anonymous reviewer for their helpful comments, Silvia Gardin and Nicolas Thibault for nannofossil data and discussions, and Tom Yancey for his invaluable help in the initial preparation and description of the cores. We are grateful to Mrs. and Mr. Mullinax for permission to drill on their land, their enthusiasm for geological discoveries and delightful hospitality. Drilling was supported by National Science Foundation (NSF) Grant No. EAR-0447171. The research material is based upon work supported by NSF grant EAR-0207407, DFG grant PR 288/3-1, and Swiss FN-200020 105261/1.
PY - 2007/3/30
Y1 - 2007/3/30
N2 - Multidisciplinary studies, including stratigraphy, sedimentology, mineralogy and geochemistry, of the new core Mullinax-1 and outcrops along the Brazos River and Cottonmouth Creek, Falls County, Texas, reveal the complex history of the Chicxulub impact, the event deposit and the K-T boundary event. The K-T boundary, as identified by the negative δ13C shift, first occurrence of Danian planktic foraminifera and palynomorphs occurs 80 cm above the event deposit in core Mullinax-1. The underlying 80 cm interval was deposited in a shallow low oxygen environment during the latest Maastrichtian, as indicated by high stress microfossil assemblages, small shells and burrows infilled with framboidal pyrite. The underlying event deposit, commonly interpreted as K-T impact tsunami, consists of a basal conglomerate with clasts containing Chicxulub impact spherules, repeated upward fining units of spherule-rich sands, followed by hummocky cross-bedded and laminated sands, which are burrowed by Thalassinoides, Planolites and Ophiomorpha and truncated by erosion. This suggests a series of temporally separated storm events with re-colonization of the ocean floor by invertebrates between storms, rather than a series of waning tsunami-generated waves. The lithified clasts with impact spherules at the base of the event deposit provide strong evidence that the Chicxulub impact ejecta layer predates the event deposit, but was eroded and re-deposited during the latest Maastrichtian sea level lowstand. The original Chicxulub ejecta layer was discovered in a 3 cm thick yellow clay layer interbedded in undisturbed late Maastrichtian clay- and mudstones 40 cm below the base of the event deposit and near the base of planktic foraminiferal zone CF1, which spans the last 300 kyr of the Maastrichtian. The yellow clay consists of cheto smectite derived from alteration of impact glass, as indicated by rare altered glass spherules with similar chemical compositions as reworked spherules from the event deposit and Chicxulub impact spherules from NE Mexico and Haiti. The Brazos sections thus provide strong evidence that the Chicxulub impact predates the K-T boundary by about 300 kyr, consistent with earlier observations in NE Mexico and the Chicxulub crater core Yaxcopoil-1.
AB - Multidisciplinary studies, including stratigraphy, sedimentology, mineralogy and geochemistry, of the new core Mullinax-1 and outcrops along the Brazos River and Cottonmouth Creek, Falls County, Texas, reveal the complex history of the Chicxulub impact, the event deposit and the K-T boundary event. The K-T boundary, as identified by the negative δ13C shift, first occurrence of Danian planktic foraminifera and palynomorphs occurs 80 cm above the event deposit in core Mullinax-1. The underlying 80 cm interval was deposited in a shallow low oxygen environment during the latest Maastrichtian, as indicated by high stress microfossil assemblages, small shells and burrows infilled with framboidal pyrite. The underlying event deposit, commonly interpreted as K-T impact tsunami, consists of a basal conglomerate with clasts containing Chicxulub impact spherules, repeated upward fining units of spherule-rich sands, followed by hummocky cross-bedded and laminated sands, which are burrowed by Thalassinoides, Planolites and Ophiomorpha and truncated by erosion. This suggests a series of temporally separated storm events with re-colonization of the ocean floor by invertebrates between storms, rather than a series of waning tsunami-generated waves. The lithified clasts with impact spherules at the base of the event deposit provide strong evidence that the Chicxulub impact ejecta layer predates the event deposit, but was eroded and re-deposited during the latest Maastrichtian sea level lowstand. The original Chicxulub ejecta layer was discovered in a 3 cm thick yellow clay layer interbedded in undisturbed late Maastrichtian clay- and mudstones 40 cm below the base of the event deposit and near the base of planktic foraminiferal zone CF1, which spans the last 300 kyr of the Maastrichtian. The yellow clay consists of cheto smectite derived from alteration of impact glass, as indicated by rare altered glass spherules with similar chemical compositions as reworked spherules from the event deposit and Chicxulub impact spherules from NE Mexico and Haiti. The Brazos sections thus provide strong evidence that the Chicxulub impact predates the K-T boundary by about 300 kyr, consistent with earlier observations in NE Mexico and the Chicxulub crater core Yaxcopoil-1.
KW - Brazos
KW - Chicxulub impact
KW - Event deposit
KW - K-T boundary
KW - Texas
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U2 - 10.1016/j.epsl.2006.12.026
DO - 10.1016/j.epsl.2006.12.026
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:33847333344
SN - 0012-821X
VL - 255
SP - 339
EP - 356
JO - Earth and Planetary Science Letters
JF - Earth and Planetary Science Letters
IS - 3-4
ER -