The Chicxulub asteroid impact and mass extinction at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary
- PMID: 20203042
- DOI: 10.1126/science.1177265
The Chicxulub asteroid impact and mass extinction at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary
Abstract
The Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary approximately 65.5 million years ago marks one of the three largest mass extinctions in the past 500 million years. The extinction event coincided with a large asteroid impact at Chicxulub, Mexico, and occurred within the time of Deccan flood basalt volcanism in India. Here, we synthesize records of the global stratigraphy across this boundary to assess the proposed causes of the mass extinction. Notably, a single ejecta-rich deposit compositionally linked to the Chicxulub impact is globally distributed at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary. The temporal match between the ejecta layer and the onset of the extinctions and the agreement of ecological patterns in the fossil record with modeled environmental perturbations (for example, darkness and cooling) lead us to conclude that the Chicxulub impact triggered the mass extinction.
Comment in
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Cretaceous extinctions: the volcanic hypothesis.Science. 2010 May 21;328(5981):973-4; author reply 975-6. doi: 10.1126/science.328.5981.973-b. Science. 2010. PMID: 20489003 No abstract available.
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Cretaceous extinctions: multiple causes.Science. 2010 May 21;328(5981):973; author reply 975-6. doi: 10.1126/science.328.5981.973-a. Science. 2010. PMID: 20489004 No abstract available.
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Cretaceous extinctions: evidence overlooked.Science. 2010 May 21;328(5981):974-5; author reply 975-6. doi: 10.1126/science.328.5981.974-a. Science. 2010. PMID: 20489005 No abstract available.
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