GEOL 303 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Shocked Quartz, Mesozoic, Radiometric Dating
Document Summary
Iridium - high concentration of this rate element is common in all locations the clay layer is found. Rare element in the crust of the earth, but abundant in meteorites. Micro-tektites - microscopic glassy spheres that form by super heating and melting of sediment during impact, creating a spray of liquid droplets that quench to glass as they fall back to earth. Shocked quartz - mineral grains of quarts that have been shattered so that the atomic structure has been skewed into broken planes within the crystal. Clay layer has been found in numerous areas around the world. Suggests that the k/t boundary was a global event. K/t boundary separates the mesozoic era from the cenozoic era. Massive eruption of lava occurred in india to produce the deccan flood basalt province 65 million years ago, contemporaneous with the k/t extinction event. Huge so2 emissions = widespread cooling and acid rain (biggest factor)
