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Glass from the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary in Haiti

Nature volume 349, pages 482–487 (1991)Cite this article

Abstract

Tektite-like glasses preserved at the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary at Beloc in Haiti provide clear evidence of an impact event. The glass composition suggests that the impact occurred on a continental shelf region, generating a silica-rich glass with chemical composition that reflects the melting of continental crustal rocks, and a calcium-rich glass produced by the fusion of marl sediments. These findings indicate that catastrophic release to the atmosphere of 1015 moles of C02 from vaporized marl occurred during the impact.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, Narragansett, Rhode Island, 02882, USA

    Haraldur Sigurdsson, Steven D'Hondt & Michael A. Arthur

  2. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599, USA

    Timothy J. Bralower

  3. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109, USA

    James C. Zachos

  4. University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, 32611, USA

    Mickey van Fossen & James E. T. Channel

Authors
  1. Haraldur Sigurdsson
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  2. Steven D'Hondt
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  3. Michael A. Arthur
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  4. Timothy J. Bralower
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  5. James C. Zachos
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  6. Mickey van Fossen
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  7. James E. T. Channel
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Sigurdsson, H., D'Hondt, S., Arthur, M. et al. Glass from the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary in Haiti. Nature 349, 482–487 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1038/349482a0

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