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  • Publication
    Accès libre
    Biotic effects of the Chicxulub impact, K–T catastrophe and sea level change in Texas
    (2009)
    Keller, Gerta
    ;
    Abramovich, S.
    ;
    Berner, Zsolt
    ;
    Adatte, Thierry 
    Biotic effects of the Chicxulub impact, the K–T event and sea level change upon planktic foraminifera were evaluated in a new core and outcrops along the Brazos River, Texas, about 1000 km from the Chicxulub impact crater on Yucatan, Mexico. Sediment deposition occurred in a middle neritic environment that shallowed to inner neritic depths near the end of the Maastrichtian. The sea level fall scoured submarine channels, which were infilled by a sandstone complex with reworked Chicxulub impact spherules and clasts with spherules near the base. The original Chicxulub impact ejecta layer was discovered 45–60 cm below the sandstone complex, and predates the K–T mass extinction by about 300,000 years.
    Results show that the Chicxulub impact caused no species extinctions or any other significant biotic effects. The subsequent sea level fall to inner neritic depth resulted in the disappearance of all larger (> 150 μm) deeper dwelling species creating a pseudo-mass extinction and a survivor assemblage of small surface dwellers and low oxygen tolerant taxa. The K–T boundary and mass extinction was identified 40–80 cm above the sandstone complex where all but some heterohelicids, hedbergellids and the disaster opportunistic guembelitrids went extinct, coincident with the evolution of first Danian species and the global δ13C shift. These data reveal that sea level changes profoundly influenced marine assemblages in near shore environments, that the Chicxulub impact and K–T mass extinction are two separate and unrelated events, and that the biotic effects of this impact have been vastly overestimated.
  • Publication
    Accès libre
    Main Deccan volcanism phase ends near the K–T boundary: Evidence from the Krishna–Godavari Basin, SE India
    (2008)
    Keller, Gerta
    ;
    Adatte, Thierry 
    ;
    Gardinc, S.
    ;
    Bartolinic, A.
    ;
    Bajpai, S.
    Recent studies indicate that the bulk (80%) of the Deccan trap eruptions occurred over less than 0.8 m.y. in magnetic polarity C29r spanning the Cretaceous–Tertiary (K–T) boundary. Determining where within this major eruptive phase the K–T mass extinction occurred has remained problematic. For this reason, models estimating the biotic and environmental consequences have generally underestimated the rate and quantity of Deccan gas emissions by orders of magnitude leading to conclusions that volcanism could not have been one of the major causes for the K–T mass extinction. In this study we report that the most massive Deccan trap eruption occurred near the K–T mass extinction.

    These results are based on sedimentologic, microfacies and biostratigraphic data of 4–9 m thick intertrappean sediments in four quarry outcrops in the Rajahmundry area of the Krishna–Godavari Basin of southeastern India. In this area two Deccan basalt flows, known as the Rajahmundry traps, mark the longest lava flows extending 1500 km across the Indian continent and into the Bay of Bengal. The sediments directly overlying the lower Rajahmundry trap contain early Danian planktic foraminiferal assemblages of zone P1a, which mark the evolution in the aftermath of the K–T mass extinction. The upper Rajahmundry trap was deposited in magnetic polarity C29n, preceding full biotic recovery. These results suggest that volcanism may have played critical roles in both the K–T mass extinction and the delayed biotic recovery.
  • Publication
    Accès libre
    Organic carbon deposition and phosphorus accumulation during Oceanic Anoxic Event 2 in Tarfaya, Morocco
    (2008)
    Mort, Haydon P.
    ;
    Adatte, Thierry 
    ;
    Keller, Gerta
    ;
    Bartels, David
    ;
    Föllmi, Karl B.
    ;
    Steinmann, Philipp
    ;
    Berner, Zsolt
    ;
    Chellai, E.H.
    With a multi-proxy approach, an attempt was made to constrain productivity and bottom-water redox conditions and their effects on the phosphorus accumulation rate at the Mohammed Plage section on the Tarfaya coast, Morocco, during the Cenomanian-Turonian Anoxic Event (OAE 2). A distinct δ13Corg isotope excursion of +2.5‰ occurs close to the top of the section. The unusually abrupt shift of the isotope excursion and disappearance of several planktonic foraminiferal species (e.g. Rotalipora cushmani and Rotalipora greenhornensis) in this level suggests a hiatus of between 40–60 kyrs at the excursion onset. Nevertheless, it was possible to determine both the long-term environmental history as well as the processes that took place immediately prior to and during OAE 2. TOC% values increase gradually from the base of the section to the top (from ~ 2.5% to ~ 10%). This is interpreted as the consequence of a long-term eustatic sea-level rise and subsidence causing the encroachment of less oxic waters into the Tarfaya Basin. Similarly a reduction in the mineralogically constructed ‘detrital index’ can be explained by the decrease in the continental flux of terrigenous material due to a relative sea-level rise. A speciation of phosphorus in the upper part of the section, which spans the start and mid-stages of OAE 2, shows overall higher abundances of Preactive mass accumulation rates before the isotope excursion onset and lower values during the plateau. Due to the probable short hiatus, the onset of the decrease in phosphorus content relative to the isotope excursion is uncertain, although the excursion plateau already contains lower concentrations. The Corg/Ptotal and V/Al ratios suggest that this reduction was mostly likely caused by a decrease in the available bottom oxygen content (probably as a result of higher productivity) and a corresponding fall in the phosphorus retention ability of the sediment. Productivity appears to have remained high during the isotope plateau possibly due to a combination of ocean-surface fertilisation via increased aridity (increased K/Al and Ti/Al ratios) and/or higher dissolved inorganic phosphorus content in the water column as a result of the decrease in sediment P retention. The evidence for decreased P-burial has been observed in many other palaeoenvironments during OAE 2. Tarfaya's unique upwelling paleosituation provides strong evidence that the nutrient recycling was a global phenomenon and therefore a critical factor in starting and sustaining OAE 2.
  • Publication
    Accès libre
    Oceanic events and biotic effects of the Cenomanian-Turonian anoxic event, Tarfaya Basin, Morocco
    (2008)
    Keller, Gerta
    ;
    Adatte, Thierry 
    ;
    Berner, Zsolt
    ;
    Chellai, E.H.
    ;
    Stueben, Doris
    Profound biotic changes accompanied the late Cenomanian δ13C excursion and OAE2 in planktic foraminifera in the Tarfaya Basin of Morocco. Planktic foraminifera experienced a severe turnover, though no mass extinction, beginning with the rapid δ13C excursion and accelerating with the influx of oxic bottom waters during the first peak and trough of the excursion. Species extinctions equaled the number of evolving species, though only the disaster opportunists Guembelitria and Hedbergella thrived along with a low oxygen tolerant benthic assemblage. The succeeding δ13C plateau and organic-rich black shale deposition marks the anoxic event and maximum biotic stress accompanied by a prolonged drop in diversity to just two species, the dominant (80–90%) low oxygen tolerant Heterohelix moremani and surface dweller Hedbergella planispira. After the anoxic event other species returned, but remained rare and sporadically present well into the lower Turonian, whereas Heterohelix moremani remained the single dominant species. The OAE2 biotic turnover suggests that the stress to calcareous plankton was related to changes in the watermass stratification, intensity of upwelling, nutrient flux and oxic levels in the water column driven by changes in climate and oceanic circulation. Results presented here demonstrate a 4-stage pattern of biotic response to the onset, duration, and recovery of OAE2 that is observed widely across the Tethys and its bordering epicontinental seas.
  • Publication
    Accès libre
    Chicxulub impact predates K–T boundary : New evidence from Brazos, Texas
    (2007-03-30)
    Keller, Gerta
    ;
    Adatte, Thierry 
    ;
    Berner, Zsolt
    ;
    Harting, Markus
    ;
    Baum, Gerald
    ;
    Prauss, Michael
    ;
    Tantawy, Abdel
    ;
    Stueben, Doris
    Multidisciplinary studies, including stratigraphy, sedimentology, mineralogy and geochemistry, of the new core Mullinax-1 and outcrops along the Brazos River and Cottonmouth Creek, Falls County, Texas, reveal the complex history of the Chicxulub impact, the event deposit and the K–T boundary event. The K–T boundary, as identified by the negative δ13C> shift, first occurrence of Danian planktic foraminifera and palynomorphs occurs 80 cm above the event deposit in core Mullinax-1. The underlying 80 cm interval was deposited in a shallow low oxygen environment during the latest Maastrichtian, as indicated by high stress microfossil assemblages, small shells and burrows infilled with framboidal pyrite. The underlying event deposit, commonly interpreted as K–T impact tsunami, consists of a basal conglomerate with clasts containing Chicxulub impact spherules, repeated upward fining units of spherule-rich sands, followed by hummocky cross-bedded and laminated sands, which are burrowed by Thalassinoides, Planolites and Ophiomorpha and truncated by erosion. This suggests a series of temporally separated storm events with re-colonization of the ocean floor by invertebrates between storms, rather than a series of waning tsunami-generated waves. The lithified clasts with impact spherules at the base of the event deposit provide strong evidence that the Chicxulub impact ejecta layer predates the event deposit, but was eroded and re-deposited during the latest Maastrichtian sea level lowstand. The original Chicxulub ejecta layer was discovered in a 3 cm thick yellow clay layer interbedded in undisturbed late Maastrichtian clay- and mudstones 40 cm below the base of the event deposit and near the base of planktic foraminiferal zone CF1, which spans the last 300 kyr of the Maastrichtian. The yellow clay consists of cheto smectite derived from alteration of impact glass, as indicated by rare altered glass spherules with similar chemical compositions as reworked spherules from the event deposit and Chicxulub impact spherules from NE Mexico and Haiti. The Brazos sections thus provide strong evidence that the Chicxulub impact predates the K–T boundary by about 300 kyr, consistent with earlier observations in NE Mexico and the Chicxulub crater core Yaxcopoil-1.
  • Publication
    Accès libre
    Phosphorus and the roles of productivity and nutrient recycling during oceanic anoxic event 2
    (2007)
    Mort, Haydon P.
    ;
    Adatte, Thierry 
    ;
    Föllmi, Karl B.
    ;
    Keller, Gerta
    ;
    Steinmann, Philipp
    ;
    Matera, Virginie
    ;
    Berner, Zsolt
    ;
    Stüben, Doris
    Four sections documenting the impact of the late Cenomanian oceanic anoxic event (OAE 2) were studied in basins with different paleoenvironmental regimes. Accumulation rates of phosphorus (P) bound to iron, organic matter, and authigenic phosphate are shown to rise and arrive at a distinct maximum at the onset of OAE 2, with an associated increase in δ13C values. Accumulation rates of P return to pre-excursion values in the interval where the δ13C record reaches its first maximum. An offset in time between the maximum in P accumulation and peaks in organic carbon burial, hydrogen indices, and Corg/Preact molar ratios is explained by the evolution of OAE 2 in the following steps. (1) An increase in productivity increased the flux of organic matter and P into the sediments; the preservation of organic matter was low and its oxidation released P, which was predominantly mineralized. (2) Enhanced productivity and oxidation of organic matter created dysoxic bottom waters; the preservation potential for organic matter increased, whereas the sediment retention potential for P decreased. (3) The latter effect sustained high primary productivity, which led to an increase in the abundance of free oxygen in the ocean and atmosphere system. After the sequestration of CO2 in the form of black shales, this oxygen helped push the ocean back into equilibrium, terminating black shale deposition and removing bioavailable P from the water column.
  • Publication
    Accès libre
    High stress late Maastrichtian – early Danian palaeoenvironment in the Neuquén Basin, Argentina
    (2007)
    Keller, Gerta
    ;
    Adatte, Thierry 
    ;
    Tantawy, Abdel A.
    ;
    Berner, Zsolt
    ;
    Stinnesbeck, W.
    ;
    Stueben, Doris
    ;
    Leanza, H. A.
    During the late Maastrichtian to early Danian the Neuquén Basin of Argentina was adjacent to an active volcanic arc to the west and an extensive land area to the northeast. Mineralogical and geochemical studies of the Bajada del Jagüel in the Neuquén Basin indicate a generally warm climate with seasonal changes in humidity and an open seaway to the South Atlantic that maintained marine conditions. Biostratigraphic and quantitative foraminiferal and nannofossil analyses indicate that sediment deposition during the late Maastrichtian (zones CF4-CF2, N. frequens) occurred in relatively shallow middle neritic (~100 m) depths with largely dysaerobic bottom waters (abundant low O2 tolerant benthics) and fluctuating sea level. Calcareous nannofossils indicate a high stress marine environment dominated by Micula decussata. Planktic foraminifera mimic the post-K/T high stress environment with alternating blooms of the disaster opportunists Guembelitria and low oxygen tolerant Heterohelix groups, indicating nutrient-rich surface waters and an oxygen depleted water column. The high stress conditions were probably driven by high nutrient influx due to upwelling and terrestrial and volcanic influx. The K/T boundary is marked by an erosional surface that marks a hiatus at the base of a 15-25 cm thick volcaniclastic sandstone, which contains diverse planktic foraminiferal zone P1c assemblages and nannofossils of zone NP1b immediately above it. This indicates deposition of the sandstone occurred ~500 ky after the K/T hiatus. No evidence of the Chicxulub impact or related tsunami deposition was detected.
  • Publication
    Accès libre
    Cenomanian–Turonian and δ13C, and δ18O, sea level and salinity variations at Pueblo, Colorado
    (2004)
    Keller, Gerta
    ;
    Berner, Zsolt
    ;
    Adatte, Thierry 
    ;
    Stueben, Doris
    Stable isotopes of the surface dwelling planktic foraminifera Hedbergella planispira, its abundance variations, and mineralogical analysis of the Cenomanian–Turonian at Pueblo, CO, reveal cyclic variations in surface salinity due to changes in precipitation, freshwater influx, marine incursions and long-term sea-level fluctuations. Hedbergella planispira is a proxy for salinity variations, as indicated by 2–4‰ more negative δ18O values in intervals of peak abundances as compared to intervals with reduced populations. Negative δ18O values reflect periods of brackish surface waters caused by freshwater influx during wet humid periods, accompanied by increased clastic transport. More positive δ18O values reflect more normal marine salinities as a result of arid periods and/or marine incursions and correlate with intervals of increased biogenic carbonate deposition. The magnitude of salinity variations during the low sea-level of the Hartland Shale is twice that during the sea-level transgression of the Bridge Creek Limestone. The rapid positive δ13C shift that marks the onset of Oceanic Anoxic Event 2 (OAE 2) at Pueblo occurred over a period of about 100 ky (93.90–94.00 Ma), and coincided with the major sea level transgression that culminated in the deposition of the basal Bridge Creek Limestone. A positive δ13C shift also occurred in the Rotalipora cushmani zone prior to OAE 2 and coincided with a sea level rise and enhanced preservation of terrestrial organic matter. The likely cause for OAE 2 is depletion of 12C in the water column as a result of high primary productivity, whereas an earlier R. cushmani zone event was primarily caused by increased input of terrigenous organic matter. Both δ13C events are associated with enhanced organic matter preservation and anoxic or dysoxic bottom waters.
  • Publication
    Accès libre
    Late Cretaceous to early Paleocene climate and sea-level fluctuations : the Tunisian record
    (2002-02-28)
    Adatte, Thierry 
    ;
    Keller, Gerta
    ;
    Stinnesbeck, Wolfgang
    Climate and sea-level fluctuations across the Cretaceous–Tertiary (K–T) transition in Tunisia were examined based on bulk rock and clay mineralogies, biostratigraphy and lithology in five sections (El Melah, El Kef, Elles, Ain Settara and Seldja) spanning from open marine to shallow inner neritic environments. Late Campanian to early Danian trends examined at El Kef and Elles indicate an increasingly more humid climate associated with sea-level fluctuations and increased detrital influx that culminates at the K–T transition. This long-term trend in increasing humidity and runoff in the Tethys region is associated with middle and high latitude cooling. Results of short-term changes across the K–T transition indicate a sea-level lowstand in the latest Maastrichtian about 25–100 ka below the K–T boundary with the regression marked by increased detrital influx at El Kef and Elles and a short hiatus at Ain Settara. A rising sea-level at the end of the Maastrichtian is expressed at Elles and El Kef by deposition of a foraminiferal packstone. A flooding surface and condensed sedimentation mark the K–T boundary clay which is rich in terrestrial organic matter. The P0–P1a transition is marked by a sea-level lowstand corresponding to a short hiatus at Ain Settara where most of P0 is missing and a period of non-deposition and erosion in the lower part of P1a (64.95 Ma). At Seldja, P0 and possibly the topmost part of CF1 are missing. These sea-level fluctuations are associated with maximum humidity. These data suggest that in Tunisia, long-term environmental stresses during the last 500 ka before the K–T boundary and continuing into the early Danian are primarily related to climate and sea-level fluctuations. Within this long-term climatic trend the pronounced warm and humid event within the latest Maastrichtian Zone CF1 may be linked to greenhouse conditions induced by Deccan volcanism. The absence of any significant clay mineral variations at or near the K–T boundary and Ir anomaly suggests that the bolide impact had a relatively incidental short-term effect on climate in the Tethys region.