The Chicxulub Asteroid Impact and Mass Extinction at the Cretaceous-Paleogene Boundary

The Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary approximately 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…

• SR
  Sight Research UK

  Award: NE/E013589/1
• NE
  Natural Environment Research Council

  Award: NE/E013589/1
• SA
  Science and Technology Facilities Council

  Awards: ST/G002452/1, ST/F003102/1