Other
Scientific paper
Apr 2003
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2003eaeja....14417v&link_type=abstract
EGS - AGU - EUG Joint Assembly, Abstracts from the meeting held in Nice, France, 6 - 11 April 2003, abstract #14417
Other
Scientific paper
The proposal by Alvarez et al. (1980) for an extraterrestrial bolide impact marking the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary was based on the anomalous Ir content in Italian and Danish K/T clay layers. The clay layer with a worldwide distribution and enriched in platinum group elements, shocked quartz and other impact-generated features has come to be interpreted as the global ejecta layer produced by a large impact that formed the Chicxulub crater. The ~200 km diameter crater is located in the carbonate platform of northwestern Yucatan peninsula, Mexico. The crater is covered by a thick sequence of Tertiary sediments, with no surface exposures. The National University of Mexico conducted a drilling program with continuous core recovery, in which three boreholes (UNAM wells 5, 6 and 7) sampled the impact breccia sequences. Deeper drilling inside the carter has been carried out as part of the ICDP program with drilling of the Yaxcopoil-1 borehole, which also cored a section of the impact breccias. The Yaxcopoil-1 borehole has been completed as part of the Chicxulub Scientific Drilling Project. In this work, we report on the geochemical and petrographic studies of selected samples from the impact breccia sequence recovered in the Yaxcopoil-1 borehole inside the Chicxulub crater. One of the major questions emerging after the interpretation of Chicxulub as the K/T boundary impact site and its link to the global ejecta layer has been the nature of the impacting body. Studies have addressed this question from distinct fields, including investigation of the ejecta deposits near and far from the crater, from the crater itself, from impact records on the Moon and other bodies, searching for surviving fragments in K/T boundary sections, etc. The search for material with a possible small component associated to the impactor could open unique research opportunities to further understand the impact event. The melt breccia samples examined exhibit different textures and chemical composition, suggesting a complex composition. Rare earth element plots for the various fragments are on the other hand similar. We report the initial results of the petrographic, microprobe, ICP-MS, X-ray fluorescence and X-ray diffraction studies.
Linares-Lopez C.
Lozano-Santamaria R.
Morton-Bermea Ofelia
Rebolledo-Vieyra Mario
Reyes-Salas M.
No associations
LandOfFree
Geochemical and petrographic studies of melt-rich breccias from the Chicxulub crater 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 Geochemical and petrographic studies of melt-rich breccias from the Chicxulub crater, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Geochemical and petrographic studies of melt-rich breccias from the Chicxulub crater will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-846205