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.     

Uranium at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary in Denmark

Uranium is significantly enriched (up to two orders of magnitude) in the Danish Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary beds relative to the underand overlaying sediments. Both the predominant oxic and some anoxic deposits have a high uranium content. To investigate the geochemical behaviour of the element, a series of sections was analysed for uranium by means of the delayed-neutron counting technique. Uranium contents in the carbonate rocks from different parts of the Danish Sub-basin are generally low but show slight regional trends. Experiments that involve cold acid extractions suggest that uranium is associated with the non-carbonate residues. The uranium distribution with depth in the offshore drill core from the Central Graben area (North Sea) suggests that the element is associated with clay in the Danian part. Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary beds from Stevns Klint and other localities in the Danish sub-basin have anomalously high uranium contents compared with the values for chalk. Uranium is not correlated with iron, non-carbonate carbon or aluminium. The highest uranium values within boundary sections are not found in the lower part of the sections as is the case for iridium. The only boundary beds that show typical anoxic depositional affinity have a total uranium accumulation that is one order of magnitude lower than that found in the oxic sections. High amounts of uranium within Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary beds are suggested to be related to diagenetic processes such as compaction and dehydration. Uranium is thought not to cause the extinctions at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary because of the relatively low contents found at the actual extinction level.     

Deccan volcanism linked to the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary mass extinction: New evidence from ONGC wells in the Krishna-Godavari Basin

A scientific challenge is to assess the role of Deccan volcanism in the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary (KTB) mass extinction. Here we report on the stratigraphy and biologic effects of Deccan volcanism in eleven deep wells from the Krishna-Godavari (K-G) Basin, Andhra Pradesh, India. In these wells, two phases of Deccan volcanism record the world’s largest and longest lava mega-flows interbedded in marine sediments in the K-G Basin about 1500 km from the main Deccan volcanic province. The main phase-2 eruptions (∼80% of total Deccan Traps) began in C29r and ended at or near the KTB, an interval that spans planktic foraminiferal zones CF1–CF2 and most of the nannofossil Micula prinsii zone, and is correlative with the rapid global warming and subsequent cooling near the end of the Maastrichtian. The mass extinction began in phase-2 preceding the first of four mega-flows. Planktic foraminifera suffered a 50% drop in species richness. Survivors suffered another 50% drop after the first mega-flow, leaving just 7 to 8 survivor species. No recovery occurred between the next three mega-flows and the mass extinction was complete with the last phase-2 mega-flow at the KTB. The mass extinction was likely the consequence of rapid and massive volcanic CO₂ and SO₂ gas emissions, leading to high continental weathering rates, global warming, cooling, acid rains, ocean acidification and a carbon crisis in the marine environment.     

Planktonic foraminiferal turnover across the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary in the Vajont valley (Southern Alps, northern Italy)

Planktonic foraminiferal analysis of the Erto section in the Vajont valley (Southern Alps, northern Italy) reveals a relatively complete succession across the Cretaceous–Tertiary (K–T) boundary. The turnover of planktonic foraminiferal fauna was studied for a stratigraphic interval spanning theAbathomphalus mayaroensisZonep.p., Pseudotextularia deformisZone,Guembelitria cretaceaZone,Parvularugoglobigerina eugubinaZone,Eglobigerina eobullioidesSubzone, andParasubbotina pseudobulloidesZonep. p.The extinction of most large, ornate, late Maastrichtian species occurs below a black ‘boundary clay’ (2–4 cm thick); however, part of the Late Cretaceous species, mainly heterohelicidids and hedbergellids, were found over an interval of more than 100 cm above the boundary. Although a relatively high number of species occur for the last time in the main extinction phase, the abundance of these outgoing species is less than 20% of the total population; unkeeled or weakly keeled, simple-shaped forms (heterohelicids, globotruncanellids, hedbergellids) constitute the bulk of the planktonic foraminiferal population both in uppermost Maastrichtian and lowermost Danian beds. The first Tertiary species (‘Globigerina’minutulaand ‘Globigerina’fringa) appear just above the ‘boundary clay’;Parvularuglobigerina eugubinaoccurs a few centimeters above. A marked increase in abundance and diversity in the Tertiary planktonic foraminiferal population occurs at the base of theEoglobigerina eobulloidesSubzone.     

Sedimentation pattern in Central Anatolia at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary

In the Central Anatolia region of Turkey, a mixture of sedimentary and tectonic melanges cover extensive areas, bordering the north, north-west and west of the Kir?ehir Massif. Broadly the age of this melange is Mesozoic; however it includes olistoliths whose ages range from Carboniferous to Cretaceous. A series of interconnected basins existed within the “melange belt” during Late Cretaceous-Early Tertiary times. They have been infilled, throughout the Lower Tertiary, by slump and mass-flow deposits, produced by active tectonic events. These events seem to be a natural continuation of the earlier stronger tectonics which produced the melanges.     

Platinum-group elements (PGE) and rhenium in marine sediments across the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary: constraints on Re-PGE transport in the marine environment

The nature of Re-platinum-group element (PGE; Pt, Pd, Ir, Os, Ru) transport in the marine environment was investigated by means of marine sediments at and across the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary (KTB) at two hemipelagic sites in Europe and two pelagic sites in the North and South Pacific. A traverse across the KTB in the South Pacific pelagic clay core found elevated levels of Re, Pt, Ir, Os, and Ru, each of which is approximately symmetrically distributed over a distance of ∼1.8 m across the KTB. The Re-PGE abundance patterns are fractionated from chondritic relative abundances: Ru, Pt, Pd, and Re contents are slightly subchondritic relative to Ir, and Os is depleted by ∼95% relative to chondritic Ir proportions. A similar depletion in Os (∼90%) was found in a sample of the pelagic KTB in the North Pacific, but it is enriched in Ru, Pt, Pd, and Re relative to Ir. The two hemipelagic KTB clays have near-chondritic abundance patterns. The ∼1.8-m-wide Re-PGE peak in the pelagic South Pacific section cannot be reconciled with the fallout of a single impactor, indicating that postdepositional redistribution has occurred. The elemental profiles appear to fit diffusion profiles, although bioturbation could have also played a role. If diffusion had occurred over ∼65 Ma, the effective diffusivities are ∼10⁻¹³ cm²/s, much smaller than that of soluble cations in pore waters (∼10⁻⁶ cm²/s). The coupling of Re and the PGEs during redistribution indicates that postdepositional processes did not significantly fractionate their relative abundances. If redistribution was caused by diffusion, then the effective diffusivities are the same. Fractionation of Os from Ir during the KTB interval must therefore have occurred during aqueous transport in the marine environment. Distinctly subchondritic Os/Ir ratios throughout the Cenozoic in the South Pacific core further suggest that fractionation of Os from Ir in the marine environment is a general process throughout geologic time because most of the inputs of Os and Ir into the ocean have Os/Ir ratios ≥1. Mass balance calculations show that Os and Re burial fluxes in pelagic sediments account for only a small fraction of the riverine Os (<10%) and Re (<0.1%) inputs into the oceans. In contrast, burial of Ir in pelagic sediments is similar to the riverine Ir input, indicating that pelagic sediments are a much larger repository for Ir than for Os and Re. If all of the missing Os and Re is assumed to reside in anoxic sediments in oceanic margins, the calculated burial fluxes in anoxic sediments are similar to observed burial fluxes. However, putting all of the missing Os and Re into estuarine sediments would require high concentrations to balance the riverine input and would also fail to explain the depletion of Os at pelagic KTB sites, where at most ∼25% of the K-T impactor’s Os could have passed through estuaries. If Os is preferentially sequestered in anoxic marine environments, it follows that the Os/Ir ratio of pelagic sediments should be sensitive to changes in the rates of anoxic sediment deposition. There is thus a clear fractionation of Os and Re from Ir in precipitation out of sea water in pelagic sections. Accordingly, it is inferred here that Re and Os are removed from sea water in anoxic marine depositional regimes.     

Chemical characteristics of the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary layer at Gubbio, Italy

Platinum metals (Pd, Ir, Pt) and Au were determined by radiochemical neutron activation analysis (RNAA) on Cretaceous-Tertiary (K---T) boundary samples collected at Gubbio, Italy. In addition, about thirty elements were determined by instrumental NAA (INAA) for both the Cretaceous and the Tertiary layer samples, as well as the boundary clay samples. Iridium and other Pt metals were observed to be similarly enriched, relative to CI-chondrite, in the boundary layers, i.e., they occur in chondritic ratios. On the other hand, correlations among the metals are not very good, suggesting that Pt metals were not incorporated into clay materials in a single phase, but rather, they behaved separately according to their own solution chemistries. In the Gubbio section, the chemical composition does not change so much across the K---T boundary layer, except for Ir (and possibly other Pt group elements) and is very similar to that of the “North American shale composite (NASC)”. Arsenic and Sb were observed not to be anomalously enriched in the Gubbio K---T boundary layers. This implies that their abundances cannot be a clue in elucidating an event which must have happened at the K---T boundary period. NASC-normalized REE abundance patterns for the boundary samples show characteristic features due to some REE precipitation out of seawater. REE abundances are not variable among the Cretaceous, the Tertiary, and the boundary samples, suggesting that conditions for precipitation and sedimentation were similar across the K---T boundary at Gubbio.     

A terrestrial scenario for the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary collapse of the marine pelagic ecosystem

In this paper, we present an expansion of the model for marine ecosystem collapse at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary presented by Brinkhuis and Zachariasse (1988). A long-term sea-level drop at the end of the Cretaceous culminated in a short-term regressive pulse at K-T time. Deep-water production was curtailed, minimizing the vertical advection of nutrients and oxygen in the oceans. Consequently, a productivity crisis developed, which could only be survived by cosmopolitan shallow-dwellers, and the Oxygen Minimum Zone (OMZ) expanded. No sustained Oceanic Anoxic Event followed the K-T boundary event, since productivity had dropped to extremely low values. At K-T time, however, the short-term expansion of the OMZ, invoked by the combination of minimized oxygen advection and abrupt mass mortality, caused dysoxic conditions even to reach up to the shelves, as can be deduced from sedimentological, chemical and faunistic observations.     

新疆塔西南区海相白垩系—第三系界线的地球化学异常

新疆塔里木盆地西南地区海相白垩系—第三系的界线粘土层发现于依格孜牙组和吐依洛克组之间。这一层具有相当复杂的元素组合 ,存在诸多元素异常。它不仅是一条生物界线 ,而且是一条地球化学界线。这一异常事件层代表了白垩纪与第三纪之交的突变事件 ,具有全球的一致性和等时性 ,因而具有自然界线性质。     

Biostratigraphy and depositional facies of the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary strata in Amakusa-Shimojima,Kyushu, Western Japan

The Upper Himenoura Subgroup exposed in the island of Amakusa-Shimojima, Kyushu, Japan shows an example of the terminal Cretaceous stratigraphic record in the circum Pacific region. This sequence is a part of the Upper Cretaceous intra-arc basins of southwest Japan. Four cycles of upward coarse-graded facies are recognized. Each cycle consists of a basinal mud facies in the lower part and a tide-dominated shallow marine to brackish coarse clastic facies in the upper part. Biostratigraphic correlation chiefly based on ammonites, inocerami and trigoniids indicates that this sequence is Campanian to Maastrichtian in age. The occurrence of the above three fossils decreases upward and is terminated at the top of the sequence, being replaced by a molluscan assemblage similar to the Danian. This suggests that the sedimentation may have continued to the very end of the Cretaceous period and possibly to the beginning of the Tertiary.     

Sedimentation in bottomland hardwoods downstream of an east Texas dam

Dams and reservoirs are often efficient sediment traps, and conventional wisdom holds that fluvial sediment supplies are reduced well downstream. However, there are reasons to question the extent to which fluvial and alluvial sediment supplies are reduced more than a few kilometers downstream of dams. Sedimentation in bottomlands of Loco Bayou, east Texas, was investigated at a site less than 16 km downstream of Loco Dam and Lake Nacogdoches, which controls 86% of the 265-km² drainage area. Turbidity levels are generally as high or higher than those on Loco Bayou upstream of the lake. Sedimentation rates on the lower floodplain since the dam was completed are 11 mm year^-1 or more. This rate is high enough to suggest that the dam has no effect on sediment supplies 16 km downstream. The spatial pattern of sedimentation and the vegetation distribution suggest that the elevation and frequency of flooding, not fluvial sediment availability, are the critical factors in determining sediment supplies to these floodplains.     

The Austin Chalk-Taylor Clay succession in Texas and the Santonian-Campanian boundary

Re-evaluation of samples from several Texas localities over the Austin Chalk-Taylor Clay boundary for planktic Foraminifera, and comparison with recent work on European and North African successions confirms the general correlation of the Texan formations with the European Stage succession. The sedimentary hiatus indicated by Pessagno (1967) does not appear to be present: the Late Santonian-Early Campanian zonal marker Globigerinita elevata (Brotzen) occurs in the Lower Taylor Clay associated with late representatives of Marginotruncana. The Lower Taylor Clay may belong to the Late Santonian in some localities.     

Review of the Late Cretaceous-early Paleogene crocodylomorphs of Europe: Extinction patterns across the K-PG boundary

Although the European dinosaur succession during the latest Cretaceous and its relationship with the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) mass extinction has been the focus of recent work, other continental vertebrates, such as crocodylomorphs, have received less attention. The European continental record of crocodylomorphs in general, and of eusuchians in particular, is relatively dense through the Maastrichtian until the K-Pg boundary. Traditionally it has been argued that continental crocodylomorphs were minimally impacted by the K-Pg extinction, but they were substantially affected in Europe with the disappearance of endemic eusuchians such as Hylaeochampsidae, Allodaposuchus and their close relatives, and non-eusuchians such as Doratodon or Theriosuchus. Despite extensive sampling in Danian continental deposits, only scarce fragmentary crocodylomorph remains have been cited. It is not until the late Paleocene and Eocene that a recovery in continental crocodylomorphs is observed. The presence of taxa such as planocraniids, the alligatoroids Diplocynodon and Hassiacosuchus, and stem crocodyloids during this period provide the first reliable continental records of Crocodylia in Europe and is best explained by post-extinction immigration from Asia or North America. By contrast, marine forms such as Thoracosaurus are found on both sides of the K-Pg boundary in Europe. The adaptation of these marine animals to different environments, from shallow seas to more transitional or fluvial environments, could be the key to their success and survival across the K-Pg boundary, as seen in other marine crocodylomorph clades such as Dyrosauridae.     

Sedimentology of the continental end‐Permian extinction event in the Sydney Basin,eastern Australia

Upper Permian to Lower Triassic coastal plain successions of the Sydney Basin in eastern Australia have been investigated in outcrop and continuous drillcores. The purpose of the investigation is to provide an assessment of palaeoenvironmental change at high southern palaeolatitudes in a continental margin context for the late Permian (Lopingian), across the end‐Permian Extinction interval, and into the Early Triassic. These basins were affected by explosive volcanic eruptions during the late Permian and, to a much lesser extent, during the Early Triassic, allowing high‐resolution age determination on the numerous tuff horizons. Palaeobotanical and radiogenic isotope data indicate that the end‐Permian Extinction occurs at the top of the uppermost coal bed, and the Permo‐Triassic boundary either within an immediately overlying mudrock succession or within a succeeding channel sandstone body, depending on locality due to lateral variation. Late Permian depositional environments were initially (during the Wuchiapingian) shallow marine and deltaic, but coastal plain fluvial environments with extensive coal‐forming mires became progressively established during the early late Permian, reflected in numerous preserved coal seams. The fluvial style of coastal plain channel deposits varies geographically. However, apart from the loss of peat‐forming mires, no significant long‐term change in depositional style (grain size, sediment‐body architecture, or sediment dispersal direction) was noted across the end‐Permian Extinction (pinpointed by turnover of the palaeoflora). There is no evidence for immediate aridification across the boundary despite a loss of coal from these successions. Rather, the end‐Permian Extinction marks the base of a long‐term, progressive trend towards better‐drained alluvial conditions into the Early Triassic. Indeed, the floral turnover was immediately followed by a flooding event in basinal depocentres, following which fluvial systems similar to those active prior to the end‐Permian Extinction were re‐established. The age of the floral extinction is constrained to 252.54 ± 0.08 to 252.10 ± 0.06 Ma by a suite of new Chemical Abrasion Isotope Dilution Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometry U‐Pb ages on zircon grains. Another new age indicates that the return to fluvial sedimentation similar to that before the end‐Permian Extinction occurred in the basal Triassic (prior to 251.51 ± 0.14 Ma). The character of the surface separating coal‐bearing pre‐end‐Permian Extinction from coal‐barren post‐end‐Permian Extinction strata varies across the basins. In basin‐central locations, the contact varies from disconformable, where a fluvial channel body has cut down to the level of the top coal, to conformable where the top coal is overlain by mudrocks and interbedded sandstone–siltstone facies. In basin‐marginal locations, however, the contact is a pronounced erosional disconformity with coarse‐grained alluvial facies overlying older Permian rocks. There is no evidence that the contact is everywhere a disconformity or unconformity.     

Palaeoecological patterns of change in marine invertebrate faunas across the End-Triassic mass extinction event: Evidence from Larne,Northern Ireland

The End-Triassic mass extinction event [ETE] (201.5 Ma) marks a drastic turnover and loss of > 50% of marine biodiversity. Suggested environmental factors include extreme climate change and global carbon-cycle perturbations linked to Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP) volcanism. Considerable attention has been paid to disentangling the causes and selectivity of the ETE, whilst downplaying the patterns of change in the structure and functioning of marine paleofauna. Here we provide detailed quantitative information from across the Triassic-Jurassic boundary at Waterloo Bay, Larne, Northern Ireland, to describe patterns of changes in different palaeoecological parameters across the ETE. The analysis was based on abundance data of species sampled from approximately 1 m intervals through the sequence. Dominance and richness were estimated using rarefaction techniques and β-diversity index, and distinctness diversity indices were calculated. Changes in species composition were evaluated by multivariate analysis (nMDS, ANOMSIM and SIMPER). Rank abundance models were fitted, and functional diversity were estimated based on an ecospace model, applied to each sampled unit to detect changes in structure and ecological complexity. Across the ETE three distinctive states were identified: the pre-extinction state (Westbury Formation), characterised by an assemblage with high species richness and ecological redundancy, and with low taxonomic variation and functional diversity. The extinction state (Cotham and Langport members) represents a shift of the marine ecosystem, where > 70% marine species disappears decreasing the ecosystems functioning the marine ecosystem around 80%. The recovery state (Lias Group), commencing some ~ 150 ky after the extinction, with ecologically complex assemblages as new taxa colonised, increasing variation in taxonomic distinctness and new contributing ecological traits and functional richness through the Hettangian. The palaeoecological patterns described here are robust enough to discount possible facies effects, but more important, is consistent with other studies reported globally, and demonstrates that the ecological signals detected in this study are real.     

关于额尔古纳地块基底性质和东界的讨论

中国东北地区是解决东亚大陆构造演化的关键地区,备受众多学者关注。近年来,关于额尔古纳地块基底性质和东界问题一直存在争议。本文对太平林场花岗片麻岩进行了锆石LA-ICP-MS U-Pb测年,锆石年龄主要集中在840～830 Ma、800～780 Ma和730～720 Ma的3个时间段内,可能为新元古代时期的3期岩浆热事件时间。其中21个锆石测点 ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U 年龄的加权平均值为779±20 Ma(MSWD=8.3),表明原岩在新元古代就已侵位结晶; 1个锆石测点U-Pb同位素年龄为494±10 Ma,Th/U比值为0.06,暗示了锆石应为变质成因,可能为花岗片麻岩的变质年龄。结合前人已报道额尔古纳地块和兴安地块上花岗质岩石年龄数据,对比发现仅额尔古纳地块经历了新元古代岩浆热事件作用; 同时对比两地块上花岗岩Hf同位素特征发现,二者具有不同的地壳早期演化阶段。因此,在早古生代早期二者应该沿塔河-喜桂图缝合带拼合并共同经历了古生代以来的岩浆作用改造,而不是传统观点认为的德尔布干断裂作为两地块的边界。     

High-resolution geochemical record of Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary sections in Mexico: New constraints on the K/T and Chicxulub events

The investigation of eight Cretaceous-Tertiary (K/T) sections in Mexico, based on major and trace element, platinum group element (PGE), stable isotope, and multivariate statistical analysis, reveals a complex depositional history across the Chicxulub and K/T boundary events. At the biostratigraphically determined K/T boundary, a minor but significant Ir-dominated PGE anomaly (0.2-0.8 ng/g) is present in most sections. This Ir anomaly originated from an impact event and is always stratigraphically and geochemically decoupled from the underlying spherule-rich ejecta deposit related to the Chicxulub event. In all sections examined, one to three glass spherule ejecta layers and one or two chondrite-dominated PGE anomalies are separated by a bioturbated siliciclastic deposit and/or hemipelagic marl, which indicates the occurrence of at least two impact events separated by a considerable amount of time. In addition, bentonite layers and Pt and Pd-dominated PGE anomalies below and above the K/T boundary indicate volcanic activity. Above the K/T boundary, reduced bioproductivity is documented by a decrease in the biogenically bound fraction of nutrients and fluctuating ratios of immobile elements (e.g., Ti/Zr). Variations in detrital elements reflect changes in the depositional environment. Carbon and oxygen isotope and trace element distribution patterns indicate a gradually changing climate during the latest Maastrichtian, an abrupt change at the K/T boundary, and a slight recovery during the lowermost Paleocene.