A meteorite from the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary

Physics

Scientific paper

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

39

Scientific paper

Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary sediments are now widely recognized to contain the record of a large asteroid or comet impact event, probably at the site of the Chicxulub crater on the Yucatan peninsula. After nearly two decades of intensive research, however, much remains unknown about the specific nature of the projectile and of the impact event itself. Here we describe a 2.5-mm fossil meteorite found in sediments retrieved from the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary in the North Pacific Ocean that we infer may be a piece of the projectile responsible for the Chicxulub crater. Geochemical and petrographic analyses of this meteorite indicate that it probably came from a typical metal- and sulphide-rich carbonaceous chondrite rather than the porous aggregate type of interplanetary dust considered typical of cometary materials. The fact that meteorite survival should be enhanced by impacts at low (asteroidal) velocities also implies that this meteorite had an asteroidal rather than a cometary origin.

No associations

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for scientists and scientific papers. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

A meteorite from the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with A meteorite from the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and A meteorite from the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-804503

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.