Bolide impact and flood volcanism compete as leading candidates for the cause of terminal-Cretaceous mass extinctions. High-precision 40Ar/39Ar data indicate that these two mechanisms may be genetically related, and neither can be considered in isolation. The existing Deccan Traps magmatic system underwent a state shift approximately coincident with the Chicxulub impact and the terminal-Cretaceous mass extinctions, after which ~70% of the Traps' total volume was extruded in more massive and more episodic eruptions. Initiation of this new regime occurred within ~50,000 years of the impact, which is consistent with transient effects of impact-induced seismic energy. Postextinction recovery of marine ecosystems was probably suppressed until after the accelerated volcanism waned.
CITATION STYLE
Renne, P. R., Sprain, C. J., Richards, M. A., Self, S., Vanderkluysen, L., & Pande, K. (2015, October 2). State shift in Deccan volcanism at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary, possibly induced by impact. Science. American Association for the Advancement of Science. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aac7549
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