Organic matter from the Chicxulub crater exacerbated the K-Pg impact winter
Abstract
Burn markers are observed in many records of the Cretaceous-Paleogene asteroid impact and mass extinction event. These materials could be derived from wildfires on land or from sedimentary rocks hit by the asteroid. We present a detailed record of molecular burn markers (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons [PAHs]) from the Chicxulub crater and in ocean sediments distant from the impact site. PAH features indicate rapid heating and a fossil carbon source and are consistent with sedimentary carbon ejected from the impact crater and dispersed by the atmosphere. Target rock-derived soot immediately contributed to global cooling and darkening that curtailed photosynthesis and caused widespread extinction. PAH evidence indicates wildfires were present but less influential on global climate and extinction.
- Publication:
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Science
- Pub Date:
- October 2020
- DOI:
- Bibcode:
- 2020PNAS..11725327L
- Keywords:
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- Chicxulub impact crater;
- wildfires;
- impact winter;
- Cretaceous–Paleogene;
- UAT:1280