Hiatus distributions and mass extinctions at the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary

N. Macleod, Gerta Keller

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

108 Scopus citations

Abstract

Much disagreement over the interpretation of data bearing on various Cretaceous/Tertiary (K/T) extinction scenarios results from a failure to view these data within their appropriate stratigraphic context. Combined biostratigraphic and chronostratigraphic analyses of K/T boundary sequences have revealed systematic differences in patterns of sediment accumulation within continental-shelf and deep-sea depositional settings. This differential pattern of sediment accumulation can be related to the lates Maastrichtian-earliest Danian sea-level rise. Our data suggests that the abrupt shifts in carbon-isotope abundances, single-peak Ir anomalies, and apparently instantaneous mass extinctions of marine plankton may be artifacts of a temporally incomplete (or extremely condensed) deep-sea stratigraphic record. -from Authors

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)497-501
Number of pages5
JournalGeology
Volume19
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - 1991

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Geology

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