[Rockhounds] THE DINOSAURS DIDN’T GO OUT THE WAY YOU THINK THEY DID — STUDY

[Kreigh Tomaszewski]

*Abstract: *Both the Chicxulub and Boltysh impact events are associated
with the K-Pg boundary. While Chicxulub is firmly linked to the
end-Cretaceous mass extinction, the temporal relationship of the
~24-km-diameter Boltysh impact to these events is uncertain, although it is
thought to have occurred 2 to 5 ka before the mass extinction. Here, we
conduct the first direct geochronological comparison of Boltysh to the K-Pg
boundary. Our 40Ar/39Ar age of 65.39 ± 0.14/0.16 Ma shows that the impact
occurred ~0.65 Ma after the mass extinction. At that time, the climate was
recovering from the effects of the Chicxulub impact and Deccan trap flood
volcanism. This age shows that Boltysh has a close temporal association
with the Lower C29n hyperthermal recorded by global sediment archives and
in the Boltysh crater lake sediments. The temporal coincidence raises the
possibility that even a small impact event could disrupt recovery of the
Earth system from catastrophic events.
https://www.inverse.com/science/the-dinosaurs-didnt-go-the-way-you-think