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Earth and Life pp 759–793Cite as

The Cretaceous–Tertiary Mass Extinction, Chicxulub Impact, and Deccan Volcanism

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Part of the book series: International Year of Planet Earth ((IYPE))

Abstract

After three decades of nearly unchallenged wisdom that a large impact (Chicxulub) on Yucatan caused the end-Cretaceous mass extinction, this theory is facing its most serious challenge from the Chicxulub impact itself, as based on evidence in Texas and Mexico and from Deccan volcanism in India. Data generated from over 150 Cretaceous–Tertiary (KT) boundary sequences to date make it clear that the long-held belief in the Chicxulub impact as the sole or even major contributor to the KT mass extinction is not supported by evidence. The stratigraphic position of the Chicxulub impact ejecta spherules in NE Mexico and Texas and the impact breccia within the crater on Yucatan demonstrate that this impact predates the KTB by about 300,000 years. Planktic foraminiferal and stable isotope analyses across the primary impact ejecta layer reveal that not a single species went extinct as a result of this impact and no significant environmental changes could be determined. The catastrophic effects of this impact have been vastly overestimated. In contrast, recent advances in Deccan volcanic studies indicate three volcanic phases with the smallest at 67.5 Ma, the main phase at the end of the Maastrichtian (C29r), and the third phase in the early Danian C29r/C29n transition (Chenet et al. 2007). The main phase of eruptions occurred rapidly, was marked by the longest lava flows spanning 1500 km across India, and ended coincident with the KT boundary. The KT mass extinction may have been caused by these rapid and massive Deccan lava and gas eruptions that account for ∼80% of the entire 3500 m thick Deccan lava pile.

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Acknowledgments

The KT studies in Texas, Mexico, and throughout Central America that have led to the discovery of the complex history of the Chicxulub impact and the KT mass extinction are the result of long-term collaborations particularly with Thierry Adatte, Zsolt Berner, Doris Stueben, and Wolfgang Stinnesbeck along with many students. Thierry Adatte was also instrumental in Deccan studies along with Silvia Gardin, Annachiara Bartolini, and Sunil Bajpai. I’m grateful to all of them. I also thank Vincent Courtillot, Yves Gallet, and Frédéric Fluteau for many discussions during a sabbatical visit at the Institute de Physique du Globe de Paris. I’m grateful also to reviewers Karl Föllmi and William D. MacDonald for their comments to improve the manuscript. The material of this study is based upon work supported by the US National Science Foundation through the Continental Dynamics Program, Sedimentary Geology and Paleobiology Program, and Office of International Science and Engineering’s India Program under NSF Grants EAR-0207407 and EAR-0447171.

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  1. Department of Geosciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA

    Gerta Keller

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  1. Earth and Planetary Sciences, Macquarie University, 2109, Sydney, Australia

    John A. Talent

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Keller, G. (2012). The Cretaceous–Tertiary Mass Extinction, Chicxulub Impact, and Deccan Volcanism. In: Talent, J.A. (eds) Earth and Life. International Year of Planet Earth. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3428-1_25

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