Chicxulub Crater: A possible Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary impact crater on the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico

Abstract

Research Article| September 01, 1991 Chicxulub Crater: A possible Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary impact crater on the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico Alan R. Hildebrand; Alan R. Hildebrand 1Department of Planetary Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Glen T. Penfield; Glen T. Penfield 2Aerogravity Division, Carson Services Inc., 32A Blooming Glen Road, Perkasie, Pennsylvania 18944 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar David A. Kring; David A. Kring 1Department of Planetary Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Mark Pilkington; Mark Pilkington 3Geophysics Division, Geological Survey of Canada, 1 Observatory Crescent, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0Y3, Canada Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Antonio Camargo Z.; Antonio Camargo Z. 4Gerencia Exploración, Petróleos Méxicanos, Avenida Marina Nacional 329, México D.F. 11311, México Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Stein B. Jacobsen; Stein B. Jacobsen 5Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, 20 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar William V. Boynton William V. Boynton 1Department of Planetary Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Geology (1991) 19 (9): 867–871. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1991)019<0867:CCAPCT>2.3.CO;2 Article history first online: 02 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Alan R. Hildebrand, Glen T. Penfield, David A. Kring, Mark Pilkington, Antonio Camargo Z., Stein B. Jacobsen, William V. Boynton; Chicxulub Crater: A possible Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary impact crater on the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico. Geology 1991;; 19 (9): 867–871. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1991)019<0867:CCAPCT>2.3.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract We suggest that a buried 180-km-diameter circular structure on the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico, is an impact crater. Its size and shape are revealed by magnetic and gravity-field anomalies, as well as by oil wells drilled inside and near the structure. The stratigraphy of the crater includes a sequence of andesitic igneous rocks and glass interbedded with, and overlain by, breccias that contain evidence of shock metamorphism. The andesitic rocks have chemical and isotopic compositions similar to those of tektites found in Cretaceous/Tertiary (K/T) ejecta. A 90-m-thick K/T boundary breccia, also containing evidence of shock metamorphism, is present 50 km outside the crater's edge. This breccia probably represents the crater's ejecta blanket. The age of the crater is not precisely known, but a K/T boundary age is indicated. Because the crater is in a thick carbonate sequence, shock-produced CO2 from the impact may have caused a severe greenhouse warming. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.