The Cretaceous‐Paleogene boundary deposit in the Gulf of Mexico: Large‐scale oceanic basin response to the Chicxulub impact

Abstract

AbstractHydrocarbon exploration in the last decade has yielded sufficient data to evaluate the Gulf of Mexico basin response to the Chicxulub asteroid impact. Given its passive marine setting and proximity to the impact structure on the Yucatán Peninsula, the gulf is the premier locale in which to study the near‐field geologic effect of a bolide impact. We mapped a thick (decimeter‐ to hectometer‐scale) deposit of carbonate debris at the Cretaceous‐Paleogene boundary that is ubiquitous in the gulf and readily identifiable on borehole and seismic data. We interpret deposits seen in seismic and borehole data in the deepwater gulf to be predominately muddy debrites with minor turbidites based on cores in the southeastern gulf. Mapping of the deposit in the northern Gulf of Mexico reveals that the impact redistributed roughly 1.05 × 105 km3 of sediment therein and over 1.98 × 105 km3 gulfwide. Deposit distribution suggests that the majority of sediment derived from coastal and shallow‐water environments throughout the gulf via seismic and megatsunamic processes initiated by the impact. The Texas shelf and northern margin of the Florida Platform were significant sources of sediment, while the central and southern Florida Platform underwent more localized platform collapse. The crustal structure of the ancestral gulf influenced postimpact deposition both directly and indirectly through its control on salt distribution in the Louann Salt Basin. Nevertheless, impact‐generated deposition overwhelmed virtually all topography and depositional systems at the start of the Cenozoic, blanketing the gulf with carbonate debris within days.