Late Cretaceous and paroxysmal Cretaceous/Tertiary extinctions

Officer, Charles B.; Hallam, A.; Drake, Charles L.; Devine, J. D.

doi:10.1038/326143a0

Cited by 243 publications

(71 citation statements)

References 87 publications

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“…A comparison between the extinction record and the best available data on the spiral structure of the Galaxy suggests that this may indeed be the case; although the large uncertainties in the spiral arm pattern speed, as well as the locations of the arms themselves prevent a more definitive comparison, it is nonetheless intriguing that the observed spacing of the major extinctions is approximately reproduced. Moreover, evidence from the fossil record (Officer et al 1987) (and possibly the Ir evidence; Yabushita & Allen 1997) that the mass extinctions were far more gradual than previously thought, lends credence to the spiral arm hypothesis, as the Sun spends tens of Myr in the vicinity of each arm, during which any or all of the aforementioned processes are not only possible, but likely. If both boloidal impacts (the Iridium evidence) and supernovae are established as culprits-in-common (as per the suggestions of Ellis, Fields and Schramm 1996) from either geological or ice-layer records, then spiral arm crossing must play an important role in the repeated extinction of terrestrial (or extra-terrestrial) life.…”

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confidence: 91%

Mass extinctions and the sun's encounters with spiral arms

Leitch

Vasisht

1998

New Astronomy

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The terrestrial fossil record shows that the exponential rise in biodiversity since the Precambrian period has been punctuated by large extinctions, at intervals of 40 to 140 Myr. These mass extinctions represent extremes over a background of smaller events and the natural process of species extinction. We point out that the non-terrestrial phenomena proposed to explain these events, such as boloidal impacts (a candidate for the end-Cretaceous extinction), and nearby supernovae, are collectively far more effective during the solar system's traversal of spiral arms. Using the best available data on the location and kinematics of the Galactic spiral structure (including distance scale and kinematic uncertainties), we present evidence that arm crossings provide a viable explanation for the timing of the large extinctions.The literature is replete with suggestions of non-terrestrial phenomena as the candidate causes for large scale extinctions. The most frequently invoked are supernovae and boloidal impacts (e.g. comets from the Oort Cloud), the latter a strong candidate for the K/T extinction ever since the discovery of the Iridium anomaly in the K/T boundary clay (Alvarez et al. 1990). Certainly the most violent events in the solar neighborhood during geologic history would have been supernovae (barring the possibility of a nearby γ-ray burst, which is far less likely; Thorsett 1995); that the structure of the very local interstellar medium is considered to be the result of a supernova, possibly related to the Geminga pulsar (at 150 pc) (Bignami & Caraveo 1996), is an impressive reminder of their potential impact. Supernovae and young supernova remnants, especially those occurring at distances < ∼ 10 pc (Ruderman 1974), can result in biospheric imbalance through a variety of processes, including ozone depletion by enhanced ionizing radiation and cosmic rays (Ellis & Schramm 1995, Koyama et al. 1995, the absorption of visible light by the formation of NO 2 (Crutzen & Brühl 1996), and in rare cases the direct deposition of supernova debris.Tidal and collisional encounters with intermediate-sized gas or dust clouds might focus cometary activity (∼ 10 9 comets) to the inner solar system, by scattering of Oort Cloud member bodies, a mechanism proposed to explain the K/T boundary event. In addition, the passage of the Sun through a cloud of density n > ∼ 10 4 cm −3 could raise the solar luminosity significantly, through Bondi accretion, as well as raise the opacity of Earth's atmosphere, directly affecting the insolation on Earth (McCrea 1975). While the recent association of the Chicxulub crater with the K/T boundary lends credence to the boloidal impact model, the large concentration of Ir deposited at the boundary may indicate that accretion also played an important role (Yabushita & Allen 1997).The proposed mechanisms constitute a set of plausible external agents for any one extinction, yet do not of themselves suggest any explanation for the timing of the mass extinctions, or for the large variation in seve...

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confidence: 91%

Mass extinctions and the sun's encounters with spiral arms

Leitch

Vasisht

1998

New Astronomy

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“…The identification of the extinction pattern is essential to the determination of its causes. According to Pospichal (1996b), a gradual or stepwise extinction might have resulted from long term climatic and/or sea-level changes (Clemens et al, 1981;Hallam, 1987) or from an extended period of intense volcanism that modified the composition of the atmosphere (McLean, 1982(McLean, , 1985Officer & Drake, 1983, 1985Officer et al 1987), whereas an abrupt mass extinction might have resulted from a catastrophic event such as an impact of a large asteroid (Alvarez et al, 1980(Alvarez et al, , 1984 or an intense volcanism (Courtillot et al, 1988).…”

Section: Few Intercalations Of Thin Calcareous Turbiditesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum: New Data on Microfossil Turnover at the Zumaia Section, Spain

Alegret¹,

Ortíz²,

Orue‐Etxebarria³

et al. 2009

PALAIOS

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“…This speculation will be evaluated during our subsequent shore-based research in light of recent articles which suggest excessive volcanism as the ultimate cause of the Cretaceous extinction event(s). One such paper (Officer et al, 1987) cites the initiation of volcanic activity at the Reunion hot-SITE 689 spot (Indian Ocean) and a peak in explosive volcanism on the Walvis Ridge, both of which are important volcanic sources in this part of the world at the approximate time of the K/T event.…”

Section: Cretaceous/tertiary (K/t) Boundarymentioning

confidence: 99%

Site 689

1988

Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program

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at the base to Quaternary at the top. The preliminary biostratigraphy and the magnetostratigraphy indicate the presence of brief sedimentary hiatuses or highly condensed sequences through out the section. These occur in the upper Danian (calcareous nanno fossil Zones CP4 and CP6); uppermost Paleocene to Eocene (CP9-89 SITE 689 CPU); uppermost Eocene (CP15b); tentatively uppermost Oligocene to lowermost Miocene; and upper Pliocene to Quaternary. Site 689 provides a fine biostratigraphic sequence that will form, in con junction with Site 690, the southernmost anchor for Atlantic biostratigraphy, biogeography and isotopic stratigraphy. This is the first sequence to be cored in the Antarctic that provides a late MesozoicCenozoic calcareous nannofossil and planktonic foraminiferal biostratigraphy. Mixed assemblages of calcareous and siliceous microfossils from the late Eocene through the Neogene have allowed the first biostratigraphic calibration to be carried out between these groups in the Antarctic region. Sedimentation across the Cretaceous/ Tertiary (K/T) boundary was continuous in Site 689, and the bound ary is associated with a 40-cm interval of vitric ash and clay of ap parent volcanic origin.The Sediments and microfossil diversity and assemblages clearly re flect a sequential cooling of the Antarctic water mass, inferred to be related to Antarctic glacial development. The siliceous biogenic fa des progressively replaced the carbonate facies during the Cenozoic, with initial siliceous sedimentation in the latest Eocene-earliest Oligocene, a major increase in siliceous sedimentation beginning near the base of the Neogene, and exclusively siliceous sedimentation from the upper Miocene. The rate of sediment accumulation was always low for biogenic sediments compared with many other oceanic areas and apparently quite uniform over long intervals of time. During the Eocene, sedimentation rates were about 4 m/m.y. For the Oligocene and Neogene, sedimentation rates between hiatuses are double that (7-9 m/m.y). Site 689, located just south of the Antarctic Diver gence, has always lain well to the south of the high productivity bio genic belt of the Polar Front. During the Cenozoic, this was an oce anic backwater. BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVESSite 689 lies in 2080 m of water near the crest of Maud Rise, an isolated elevation in the eastern Weddell Sea (Fig. 1). This site was selected to obtain a high-quality (APC-XCB), continu ously-cored pelagic biogenic sequence through Upper Creta ceous, Paleogene, and Neogene sediments in the area of the present-day Antarctic water mass. It is also the shallower of two sites on Maud Rise that form part of a depth transect for studies of the history of vertical water-mass stratification, the other site being Site 690, located on the southwestern flank of Maud Rise in 2914 m of water.Multichannel seismic reflection and 3.5-kHz pinger profiles (Figs. 2-4) indicate the presence of a relatively thin (0.4-s twoway traveltime-twt) sequence of draped and mounded, weakly reflective sediments i...

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Late Cretaceous and paroxysmal Cretaceous/Tertiary extinctions

Cited by 243 publications

References 87 publications

Mass extinctions and the sun's encounters with spiral arms

Mass extinctions and the sun's encounters with spiral arms

The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum: New Data on Microfossil Turnover at the Zumaia Section, Spain

Site 689

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