Kießling W (2010)
Publication Type: Journal article
Publication year: 2010
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science
Book Volume: 327
Pages Range: 1214-1218
Journal Issue: 5970
The Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary ∼65.5 million years ago marks one of the three largest mass extinctions in the past 500 million years. The extinction event coincided with a large asteroid impact at Chicxulub, Mexico, and occurred within the time of Deccan flood basalt volcanism in India. Here, we synthesize records of the global stratigraphy across this boundary to assess the proposed causes of the mass extinction. Notably, a single ejecta-rich deposit compositionally linked to the Chicxulub impact is globally distributed at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary. The temporal match between the ejecta layer and the onset of the extinctions and the agreement of ecological patterns in the fossil record with modeled environmental perturbations (for example, darkness and cooling) lead us to conclude that the Chicxulub impact triggered the mass extinction.
APA:
Kießling, W. (2010). The Chicxulub asteroid impact and mass extinction at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary. Science, 327(5970), 1214-1218. https://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1177265
MLA:
Kießling, Wolfgang. "The Chicxulub asteroid impact and mass extinction at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary." Science 327.5970 (2010): 1214-1218.
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