Hiatus distributions and mass extinctions at the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary

Abstract

Research Article| May 01, 1991 Hiatus distributions and mass extinctions at the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary Norman MacLeod; Norman MacLeod 1Department of Geological and Geophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Gerta Keller Gerta Keller 1Department of Geological and Geophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Norman MacLeod 1Department of Geological and Geophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544 Gerta Keller 1Department of Geological and Geophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544 Publisher: Geological Society of America First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 Geological Society of America Geology (1991) 19 (5): 497–501. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1991)019<0497:HDAMEA>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 Norman MacLeod, Gerta Keller; Hiatus distributions and mass extinctions at the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary. Geology 1991;; 19 (5): 497–501. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1991)019<0497:HDAMEA>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 Much disagreement over the interpretation of data bearing on various Cretaceous/Tertiary (K/T) extinction scenarios results from a failure to view these data within their appropriate stratigraphic context. Combined biostratigraphic and chronostratigraphic analyses of K/T boundary sequences have revealed systematic differences in patterns of sediment accumulation within continental-shelf and deep-sea depositional settings. Although virtually all deep-sea boundary sequences are marked by intervals of nondeposition or hiatus formation during the latest Cretaceous and earliest Tertiary, many continental shelf-slope sequences appear to be temporally complete over this same interval. This differential pattern of sediment accumulation can be related to the latest Maastrichtian-earliest Danian sea-level rise, during which deep-sea sediment- accumulation rates would be expected to drop as the locus of sediment deposition migrated across the continental shelf. Our data suggest that the abrupt shifts in carbon-isotope abundances, single-peak Ir anomalies, and apparently instantaneous mass extinctions of marine plankton—which are routinely reported from deep-sea K/T boundary sequences and used to support a causal relation between Late Cretaceous bolide impacts and K/T mass extinctions—may be artifacts of a temporally incomplete (or extremely condensed) deep-sea stratigraphic record. 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.