Article Synopsis
- The Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary, about 65.5 million years ago, represents one of the largest mass extinctions in Earth's history, coinciding with a significant asteroid impact in Mexico.
- This extinction coincided with intense volcanic activity in India, which may also have contributed to environmental changes.
- The global distribution of ejecta from the Chicxulub impact, alongside fossil record patterns and ecological disruptions, supports the conclusion that this event was the primary trigger for the mass extinction.
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Article 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.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1177265 | DOI Listing |
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