白垩-第三纪界线样品异常铱的赋存状态及其地质意义

通过对地质样品中铱的赋存状态研究及对残渣相中微粒的透射电镜分析,得出:在K-T界线样品中铱主要存在于残渣相中,不利于地球化学过程富集铱;铱在残渣相的富集与有机不溶物的存在没有必然联系;白垩-第三纪的生物绝灭事件中有火山活动参与;K-T界线事件的触发物为地外物质撞击。最后提出了K-T界线样品异常铱来源于地外物质撞击和火山喷发的混合模型。     

K/T界线铂族元素丰度异常与地外撞击事件

遍布全球的Ｋ／Ｔ界线粘土层不仅存在着铱的丰度异常,其它铂族元素的含量也异常高,并且基本上保持着类似与地外物质中的丰度分布模式,实验表明,在粘土层中铂族元素主要呈可交换离子相和难溶金属相的形式存在在,而在硫化物和硅酸盐相中的含量却很低,这与铂族元素来源于地外物体撞击的成因解释是一致的。     

天然富勒烯及其在P-T界线地层的研究进展

富勒烯（Fullerene）为除金刚石和石墨外碳元素的第三种同素异形体,自Kroto等1985年发现以来,对富勒烯的研究一直是世界性的热点话题,并在多个方面取得重要进展。它具有稳定的封闭笼状结构,被认为在星际空间广泛存在。富勒烯的形成条件特殊,普通的地球环境和地质过程不利于富勒烯的生成。1992年天然富勒烯在俄罗斯前寒武纪地层桑加岩（Shungite）中被发现,引起了人们对天然富勒烯研究的兴趣。随着富勒烯在陨石和撞击构造中的发现,人们更加关注事件地层中富勒烯存在的可能性以及它们的可能来源。二叠纪—三叠纪（P-T）之交发生了地质历史上规模最大的生物灭绝事件,因此,学者十分关注P-T界线地层中是否能检测到天然富勒烯的的存在。文章回顾了富勒烯在陨石、撞击构造、K-T界线地层和P T界线地层的研究进展,并重点对P-T界线富勒烯的存在问题进行讨论,指出从样品采集到样品测试,每一个环节都可能影响富勒烯的检出。P-T界线地层富勒烯可能源于陨石撞击、天然大火等极端地质事件,而包裹在富勒烯碳笼的稀有气体的同位素组成提供了进一步区分的重要证据。事件地层中普遍存在富勒烯,表明天然富勒烯可以作为地层中发生过重大灾变事件的重要的地球化学指标,而具有异常稀有气体同位素组成的富勒烯则是地外撞击事件的最直接证据。     

天、地、生研究的新进展

近十余年来,科学界以天、地、生等多学科密切相配合为研究手段,深入研究了地史时期各主要地质界线上的重大地质事件.迄今已查明在11条地质界线上不同程度地存在着铱等痕量元素富集、稳定同位素异常、微球粒、焚烧灰烬、冲击变质矿物及撞击坑,并伴随着生物大绝灭.认为在一些地质界线上(如白垩—第三系界线).很可能发生过天体撞击地球事件.正是由于众多灾变事件的伴生和复合,构成了特大灾变群,造成了罕见的灾变环境,导致了生物大绝灭及生物群的迅速更替.     

浙江长兴二叠系/三叠系界线剖面的元素地球化学特征

用放射化学和仪器中子活化分析,研究了浙江长兴二叠系/三叠系(P/T)界线剖面中29种元素的丰度分布。结果表明,界线粘土层的铱、锇、铂、金和铼,以及一些亲铁和亲硫元素都有程度不同的富集。在考虑了各种可能存在的地内因素后,类似于白垩纪末的地外物质撞击的可能性变得颇有吸引力。然而,Ir/Os和Ir/Au等元素丰度比值与太阳丰度比不符,有可能是二亿三千万年以来这些元素在风化过程中不同的地球化学行为所致。元素丰度的一些特征还有待深入研究。对长兴P/T界线的划分也作了适当讨论。     

混合成因模式——中国南方二叠-三叠系界线地层元素地球化学及其启示

本文通过对中国南方9条二叠—三叠系界线剖面样品的微量元素地球化学及其异常的研究,提出一个关于二叠—三叠系界线粘土层成因的混合模式。即认为界线粘土岩层是小行星撞击事件和中、酸性火山喷发事件的混合产物。在其物质来源上,撞击溅射产物与火山灰的比例大体为3:7。     

中、上侏罗统界线上发现铱异常

G.M.Koiesov和L.D.Barsukova对采自波兰南部和西班牙的中—上侏罗统界线的四条剖面上的样品进行分析,发现了铱异常的存在.在美国作的进一步分析核实了上述结果.它反映出有意义的Ir和Os的富集.首先要解决的问题是:Ir异常和宇宙物质的高度富集,是起因于非常缓慢的沉积作用,还是一次灾难性的事件.这种地球化学异常似乎很难解释为生物建造细菌铁叠层石对金属物质的选择性吸收,因为该异常也明显地见于铁叠层石的上、下部,并且金属物质在叠层石填隙物中的富集程度非常高,以致在单个金属物质颗粒分布的观察域内见不到生物个体.因此,这些特殊的叠层石起因于海水化学成分某些有意义的变化似乎更合理.地层分析表明,具异常的岩石很可能产于Lam-     

扬子地台前寒武-寒武纪界线附近的地质事件与成矿作用

详细研究了扬子地台6个前寒武-寒武纪界线附近的黑色岩系剖面。选择67个标本做仪器中子活化分析并在17个样品内发现铱异常,认为它是稀罕事件的反映。其特点是地理分布广、地外物质断续供给时间长。这很可能是太阳系进入银河系星际物质密集区而引起的慧星雨,它不仅提供了宇宙物质,而且造成了缺氧环境,从而使铱异常与缺氧事件交织在一起。更重要的是许多沉积及沉积-成岩矿床(石煤、钒、钡、铀、镍钼等)与这两个地质事件紧密相关。     

地质界线的铱异常

自从1980年,美国Alvarez小组首先报道白垩纪和第三纪之间的界线粘土层中有异常高的铱含量以来,各国科学家在寻找地质界线的铱异常方面,已取得了大量成果。迄今,不仅已发现全世界五十余处的白垩系一第三系界线有铱异常外,而且还发现在前寒武系—寒武系、泥盆系—石炭系、上泥盆系的弗拉斯阶—法门阶、二叠系—三叠系、中侏罗系—上侏罗系、始新世—渐新世等界线层,也有着程度不同的铱富集。铱异常的研究加深了对古生物进化、地质历史的演化、地层界线的划分、以及天、地生相关系等许多重大地学问题的认识。     

奥陶系与志留系界线处生物绝灭事件及其与铱和碳同位素异常的关系

用放射性化学和仪器中子活化分析,研究了宜昌分乡502号奥陶系—志留系界线剖面40多种元素丰度的分布。结果表明,在奥陶系—志留系界线层中铱的丰度突然增至0.64 ppb,显示出明显的铱异常。而且铱和一些亲铁和亲硫元素丰度的变化呈正相关性。在宜昌黄花场剖面的相同界线层中,还存在δ~(13)C偏离。上述地球化学的信号有利于奥陶纪末期生物集群绝灭可能与地外事件有关的设想,并为奥陶系—志留系界线应划在Hirnantia-Kinnella和G.persculptus带之间提供了新的证据。     

地外撞击作用与地球灾变环境

撞击理论是美国物理学家Ａｌｖａｒｅｚ等（１９８０）根据白垩系－第三系（Ｋ／Ｔ）界线粘土层中发现的贵金属元素铱的异常所提出的。十几年过去了，科学家们围绕着这一理论开展了广泛的争论和多方面的研究，取得了不少成果。到目前为止，在世界各地白垩系－第三系界线上发现的异常已有百余处。不少地方还发现了冲击变质矿物和冲击层。研究还发现显生宙来以生物的大量绝灭和地外物体的撞击具有近乎一致的周期性，大约为２６Ｍａ。最     

Proximal impact deposits at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary in the Gulf of Mexico: a restudy of DSDP Leg 77 Sites 536 and 540

Restudy of Deep Sea Drilling Project Sites 536 and 540 in the southeast Gulf of Mexico gives evidence for a giant wave at Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary time. Five units are recognized: (1) Cenomanian limestone underlies a hiatus in which the five highest Cretaceous stages are missing, possibly because of catastrophic K-T erosion. (2) Pebbly mudstone, 45 m thick, represents a submarine landslide possibly of K-T age. (3) Current-bedded sandstone, more than 2.5 m thick, contains anomalous iridium, tektite glass, and shocked quartz; it is interpreted as ejecta from a nearby impact crater, reworked on the deep-sea floor by the resulting tsunami. (4) A 50-cm interval of calcareous mudstone containing small Cretaceous planktic foraminifera and the Ir peak is interpreted as the silt-size fraction of the Cretaceous material suspended by the impact-generated wave. (5) Calcareous mudstone with basal Tertiary forams and the uppermost tail of the Ir anomaly overlies the disturbed interval, dating the impact and wave event as K-T boundary age. Like Beloc in Haiti and Mimbral in Mexico, Sites 536 and 540 are consistent with a large K-T age impact at the nearby Chicxulub crater.     

Multiple factors in the origin of the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary: the role of environmental stress and Deccan Trap volcanism

A review of the scenarios for the Cretaceous/Tertiary (K/T) boundary event is presented and a coherent hypothesis for the origin of the event is formulated. Many scientists now accept that the event was caused by a meteorite impact at Chicxulub in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Our investigations show that the oceans were already stressed by the end of the Late Cretaceous as a result of the long-term drop in atmospheric CO₂, the long-term drop in sea level and the frequent development of oceanic anoxia. Extinction of some marine species was already occurring several million years prior to the K/T boundary. The biota were therefore susceptible to change. The eruption of the Deccan Traps, which began at 66.2 Ma, coincides with the K/T boundary events. It erupted huge quantities of H₂SO₄, HCl, CO₂, dust and soot into the atmosphere and led to a significant drop in sea level and marked changes in ocean temperature. The result was a major reduction in oceanic productivity and the creation of an almost dead ocean. The volcanism lasted almost 0.7 m.y.. Extinction of biological species was graded and appeared to correlate with the main eruptive events. Elements such as Ir were incorporated into the volcanic ash, possibly on soot particles. This horizon accumulated under anoxic conditions in local depressions and became the marker horizon for the K/T boundary. An oxidation front penetrated this horizon leading to the redistribution of elements. The eruption of the Deccan Traps is the largest volcanic event since the Permian-Triassic event at 245 Ma. It followed a period of 36 m.y. in which the earth’s magnetic field failed to reverse. Instabilities in the mantle are thought to be responsible for this eruption and therefore for the K/T event. We therefore believe that the K/T event can be explained in terms of the effects of the Deccan volcanism on an already stressed biosphere. The meteorite impact at Chicxulub took place after the onset of Deccan volcanism. It probably played a regional, rather than a global, role in the K/T extinctions.     

Cretaceous climate, volcanism, impacts, and biotic effects

Cretaceous volcanic activities (LIPs and CFBPs) appear to have had relatively minor biotic effects, at least at the generic level. Major biotic stress during the Cretaceous was associated with OAEs and related to nutrient availability largely from weathering, greenhouse warming, drowning of platform areas, and volcanism. The biotic effects of OAEs were often dramatic at the species level, causing the extinction of larger specialized and heavily calcified planktonic foraminifera (rotaliporid extinction) and nannoconids (nannoconid crises), the temporary disappearances of other larger species, and the rapid increase in r-selected small and thin-walled species, such as the low oxygen tolerant heterohelicids and radially elongated taxa among planktic foraminifera and thin walled nannofossils. Biotic diversity increased during cool climates, particularly during the late Campanian and Maastrichtian, reaching maximum diversity during the middle Maastrichtian. High biotic stress conditions began during greenhouse warming and Deccan volcanism about 400 ky before the K-T boundary; it reduced abundances of large specialized tropical planktic foraminiferal species and endangered their survival. By K-T time, renewed Deccan volcanism combined with a large impact probably triggered the demise of this already extinction prone species group.Evidence from NE Mexico, Texas, and the Chicxulub crater itself indicates that this 170 km-diameter crater predates the K-T boundary by 300,000 years and caused no species extinctions. The Chicxulub impact, therefore, can no longer be considered a direct cause for the K-T mass extinction. However, the K-T mass extinction is closely associated with a global Ir anomaly, which is considered too large, too widespread, and too concentrated in a thin layer to have originated from volcanic activity, leaving another large impact as the most likely source. This suggests that a second still unknown larger impact may have triggered the K-T mass extinction.     

Stevns Klint Fish Clay (FC-1): Preparation of, and Preliminary Results for, a Candidate Reference Material

The collapse of a section of the cliff at Stevns Klint, Denmark in 1986 provided a unique opportunity to collect about 50 kg of Fish Clay representing the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) boundary layer. In this paper, details of the preparation of this sample are presented, together with preliminary analytical results to support the development of this sample as a reference material, particularly for the determination of iridium and the other platinum-group elements in clays and sediments associated with K-T boundary studies and in other environmental samples collected to study the effects of automobile exhaust catalysts.     

Mobility of iridium in terrestrial environments: Implications for the interpretation of impact-related mass-extinctions

Traditionally, iridium has been considered an element of low mobility, but its behavior is still debated. Ir concentration in a soil affected by a catastrophic mining spill in 1998 that covered the soil with a layer of tailings offers the opportunity to analyse an exceptional Ir-bearing horizon 10 years after deposition. This has enabled comparisons with the values of past Ir-bearing horizons associated to impact-related mass-extinction events. Iridium concentration in the tailings (0.349 ppm) was 5-fold higher than the anomaly in the K-Pg at The Moody Creek Mine section (the highest values obtained from terrestrial sections). The oxidative weathering of the tailings caused the release of Ir and infiltration into the soil. Iridium distribution in depth indicates redistribution throughout the profile in relation to the change in the physico-chemical properties of the soil. With regard to the background concentration in the soil (0.056 ppm), anomalous values of Ir (0.129 ppm) can be detected to 11 cm below the layer of tailings. The correlation analysis between the Ir concentration and the main properties and constituents of the soils indicated a significant correlation with sulfur, iron, clay content, and pH. Selective extractions were made to study the forms in which Ir can be mobilized in the soil. The residual/insoluble fraction was >90% of the total Ir concentration in soil. Soluble-in-water concentration of Ir (1.5% of total) was detected in the uppermost 2-3 cm of the soil, which were directly affected by the leaching of acidic waters coming from the oxidation of the pyrite tailings. Iridium retention in the affected part of the soil reached 9% of the total Ir concentration; this retention could be related to the amorphous iron forms dissolved by the oxalic-oxalate extraction. However, according to our research, original Ir abundance could be secondarily modified, and then a direct analysis of the iridium values recorded in sediments could induce misinterpretations. The comparison between the actual example and the fossil record belonging to terrestrial settings, can be considered as a valuable approach, especially when Iridium data were used by researchers to interpret the impact-related mass-extinction events in the past.     

Trace-element patterns at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary—Consequences of a large impact

The earlier discovery of high concentrations of iridium and osmium at the very base of the Tertiary in marine pelagic sequences, has led to the hypothesis that the impact of a large projectile on Earth terminated the Mesozoic era.This paper describes the distribution of other trace elements in samples closely spaced around the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary. We found an enrichment of Co, Cr, Ni, As, Sb and Se, and a depletion of the rare earth elements (REE), coupled with the anomalously high concentration of Ir and Os. Also, in the enrichment layer, problematic sanidine spherules occur which may be spheres, ablated from the impacting projectile or microtektites.The REE depletion could not only be demonstrated in the basal millimetres of the relatively thick (～ 10 cm) boundary marl bed of the Barranco del Gredero section, Caravaca, Spain, but also in the boundary clay of the Stevns Klint section—the “Fiskeler”—Denmark. In these boundary clay beds are also the highest concentrations of Ir recorded [44 and 86.7 ppb (1 ppb = 10^?9 g/g), respectively].This REE depletion is tentatively connected with the low REE concentration in common meteorites. In that case the basal millimetres are dominated by a meteoritic component and represent a “fall-out” layer of the impact event. This in turn would imply low terrestrial dilution at impact on Earth, suggesting that the projectile might have fallen into the ocean.Identification of the projectile remains speculative; especially the high As, Sb and Se anomalies are problematic. These latter may point to a projectile of uncommon composition, possibly a comet.An integrated scenario of a possible sequence of events is presented, chiefly based on the interpretation of micropaleontological, lithological, geochemical and stable isotope data of the studied sections.The direct and indirect effects of an impact leading to mass extinction constitute a complicated problem and may comprise a sudden temperature rise, a poisoning by cyanide or arsenic, and a few years suppression of sunlight, or preferably, a combination of these effects.     

黔北大方地区二叠系—三叠系界线粘土及事件粘土地球化学特征及成因

黔北大方地区二叠纪及三叠纪地层发育,在二叠系—三叠系界线处发现12~14cm厚的界线粘土,在界线粘土层之上还发现3~4层5~18cm厚的火山事件粘土层。二叠系—三叠系界线粘土、事件粘土及松子坎段底部火山事件粘土岩(绿豆岩)均具有高的K_2O和MgO含量;二叠系—三叠系界线粘土的稀土元素特征与关岭组松子坎段底部绿豆岩相似,与沙堡湾段事件粘土岩的稀土元素特征也十分相似,Eu异常较明显,说明界线粘土及事件粘土成因均与火山活动有密切关系。界线粘土比事件粘土具更明显的Eu异常,部分界线粘土还具有Ce异常。二叠系—三叠界线粘土、事件粘土及关岭组绿豆岩的源区均属于活动大陆边缘的长英质火山岩区,为酸性的长英质火山岩喷发(火山灰)沉积的产物,而沙堡湾段及九级滩段正常沉积泥岩的源区属于被动大陆边缘的长石砂岩岩区。界线粘土中,大部分微量元素与事件粘土及关岭组绿豆岩中对应微量元素的含量相近,但其中的Th、Y、Nb、Cd、Ga、In、Ta明显高于与火山活动有关的事件粘土及绿豆岩,推测事件粘土与少量宇宙事件外来物质的加入有关。     

Ir anomalies and other elemental markers near the Palaeocene–Eocene boundary in a flysch sequence from the Western Tethys (Slovenia)

Ir abundance anomalies, platinum-group elements (PGE) enrichment and increased concentrations of meteoritic (Ni, Fe, Co) and nonmeteoritic (Sb, As, Zn and Cu) elements were found in the Palaeocene–Eocene (P/E) boundary interval in a flysch sequence from the Western Tethys (Goriška Brda section, W. Slovenia). This records one of the most important calcareous deep benthic extinctions in the history of the Earth. Although the observed geochemical patterns could indicate complex sources for these metals, such as weathering of the continental and oceanic crust, volcanic processes, as well as diagenetic mobilization and redistribution, we cannot preclude the highly speculative possibility that the observed Ir abundances may also indicate extraterrestrial contamination.