Osmium-187/osmium-186 in manganese nodules and the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary

Physics

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Impact Damage, Manganese, Meteoritic Damage, Osmium Isotopes, Nodules, Paleontology, Radioactive Decay, Rhenium Isotopes

Scientific paper

The Os-187/Os-186 ratio in the Cretaceous-Tertiary transition was examined to test the hypothesis that a meteoritic impact was responsible for the large-scale extinction of species which occurred soon after. Mantle and meteoritic material have a ratio currently of about 1, while crustal material would yield a ratio of about 10. A large sample of manganese nodule ratios was analyzed to ascertain the seawater ratio, yielding ratios between 6-8.4, indicating a crustal content. The C-T boundary at Stevns Klint, Denmark, which displays the highest C-T ratios, was measured and had a value a`of 1.65, closest to the meteoritic value. It is calculated that volcanic events could not account for the Os isotope ratios, and neither would possible cometary or asteroidal origins. It is concluded that meteoritic projectile material is the most plausible explanation for the isotope anomalies in the C-T transition layer.

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