Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-j824f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-07T12:34:01.684Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Latest Cretaceous/earliest Tertiary transition on Seymour Island, Antarctica

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 May 2016

William J. Zinsmeister ,
Rodney M. Feldmann ,
Michael O. Woodburne  and
David H. Elliot
William J. Zinsmeister
Affiliation:
1Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907
Rodney M. Feldmann
Affiliation:
2Department of Geology, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44242
Michael O. Woodburne
Affiliation:
3Department of Earth Sciences, University of California, Riverside 92521
David H. Elliot
Affiliation:
4Byrd Polar Research Center and Department of Geology and Mineralogy, Ohio State University, Columbus 43210
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Seymour Island, Antarctica (64°17'S), offers the first opportunity to examine the crisis at the end of the Cretaceous from the high southern latitudes. The K/T boundary sequence on Seymour Island consists of a nearly continuous sequence of siliciclastic sediments deposited in a mid-shelf environment. The faunal changes across the boundary occur through a 30-m interval with no single extinction horizon, in contrast to other well-studied K/T boundary sections. The “expanded” nature of the Seymour Island section makes placement of the K/T boundary difficult because boundary indicators such as planktic foraminifera, ammonites, and dinocysts disappear at different levels within the section.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Paleontology , Volume 63 , Issue 6 , November 1989 , pp. 731 - 738
Copyright
Copyright © The Paleontological Society 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alvarez, L. W., Alvarez, W., Asaro, F., and Michel, H. V. 1980. Extraterrestrial cause for the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction. Science, 208:1095–1108.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Alvarez, W., Asaro, F., Michel, J. V., and Alvarez, L. W. 1982. Iridium anomaly approximately synchronous with terminal Eocene extinctions. Science, 216:886–888.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Andersson, G. 1908. On the geology of Graham Land. Bulletin of the Geological Institute of the University of Uppsala, 7:19–71.Google Scholar
Askin, R. A. 1988. The palynological record across the Cretaceous/Tertiary transition on Seymour Island, Antarctica, p. 155–162. In Feldmann, R. M. and Woodburne, M. O. (eds.), Geology and Paleontology of Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula. Geological Society of America Memoir 169.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bohor, B. F., Foord, E. E., Modreski, P. J., and Triplehorn, D. M. 1984. Mineralogic evidence for an impact event at the Cretaceous–Tertiary boundary. Science, 224:867–869.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brouwers, E. M., Clemens, W. A., Spicer, R. A., Ager, T. A., Carter, L. D., and Sliter, W. V. 1987. Dinosaurs on the North Slope, Alaska: high latitude, latest Cretaceous environments. Science, 237:1608–1610.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Clemens, W. A. 1982. Patterns of extinction and survival of the terrestrial biota during the Cretaceous/Tertiary transition, p. 407–413. In Silver, L. T. and Schultz, P. H. (eds.), Geological Implications of Impacts of Large Asteroids and Comets on the Earth. Geological Society of America Special Paper 190.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clemens, W. A., Archibald, J. D., and Hickey, L. J. 1981. Out with a whimper not a bang. Paleobiology, 7:293–298.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ekdale, A. A., and Bromley, R. G. 1984. Sedimentology and ichnology of the Cretaceous–Tertiary boundary in Denmark; implications for the causes of the terminal Cretaceous extinction. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, 54:681–703.Google Scholar
Ganapathy, R. 1980. A major meteorite impact on the Earth 65 million years ago: evidence from the Cretaceous–Tertiary boundary clay. Science, 209:921–923.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gasparini, Z., Olivero, E., Scasso, T., and Rinaldi, C. 1988. Un ankylosauria (Reptilia, Ornithischia) Campaniano en el continente Antarctico. Anais do X Congresso Brasileiro de Paleontologia, Rio de Janeiro, 19–25 July, 1987, p. 131–141.Google Scholar
Hansen, T., Farrand, R. B., Montgomery, H. A., Billman, H. G., and Blechschmidt, G. 1987. Sedimentology and extinction patterns across the Cretaceous–Tertiary boundary interval in east Texas. Cretaceous Research, 8:229–252.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hsu, K. J., McKenzie, J. A., and He, Q. X. 1982. Terminal Cretaceous environmental and evolutionary changes, p. 317–328. In Silver, L. T. and Schultz, P. H. (eds.), Geological Implications of Impacts of Large Asteroids and Comets on the Earth. Geological Society of America Special Paper 190.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huber, B. T. 1988. Upper Campanian–Paleocene foraminifera from the James Ross Island region, Antarctic Peninsula, p. 163–252. In Feldmann, R. M. and Woodburne, M. O. (eds.), Geology and Paleontology of Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula. Geological Society of America Memoir 169.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hut, P., Alvarez, W., Elder, W. P., Hansen, T., Kauffman, E. G., Keller, G., Shoemaker, E. M., and Weissman, P. R. 1987. Comet showers as a cause of mass extinctions. Nature, 329:118–126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jablonski, D. 1985. Causes and consequences of mass extinctions; a comparative approach, p. 183–229. In Elliott, D. K. (ed.), Dynamics of Extinction. John Wiley and Sons, New York.Google Scholar
Jones, D. S., Mueller, P. A., Bryan, J. R., Dobson, J. P., Channell, J. E. T., Zachos, J. C., and Arthur, M. A. 1987. Biotic, geochemical, and paleomagnetic changes across the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary at Braggs, Alabama. Geology, 15:311–315.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MacDougall, J. D. 1988. Seawater strontium isotopes, acid rain, and the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary. Science, 239:485–487.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Macellari, C. E. 1984a. Late Cretaceous stratigraphy, sedimentology, and macropaleontology of Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula. Unpubl. Ph.D. dissertation, The Ohio State University, Columbus, 599 p.Google Scholar
Macellari, C. E. 1984b. Revision of serpulids of the genus Rotularia (Annelida) at Seymour Island (Antarctic Peninsula) and their value in stratigraphy. Journal of Paleontology, 58:1098–1116.Google Scholar
Macellari, C. E. 1986. Late Campanian–Maastrichtian ammonite fauna from Seymour Island (Antarctic Peninsula). Journal of Paleontology, Supplement to 60(2), Paleontological Society Memoir 18, 55 p.Google Scholar
Macellari, C. E., and Zinsmeister, W. J. 1983. Sedimentology and macropaleontology of the Upper Cretaceous to Paleocene sequence of Seymour Island. Antarctic Journal of the United States, 18:69–71.Google Scholar
Montanari, A., Hay, R. L., Alvarez, W., Asaro, F., Michel, H. V., Alvarez, L. W., and Smit, J. 1983. Spheroids at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary are altered impact droplets of basaltic composition. Geology, 11:668–671.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nordenskjöld, O. 1905. Antarctica, or Two Years Amongst the Ice of the South Pole [English edition]. Macmillan Co., New York, 608 p.Google Scholar
Officer, C. B., and Drake, C. L. 1983. The Cretaceous-Tertiary transition. Science, 219:1383–1390.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Officer, C. B., and Drake, C. L., Hallam, A., Drake, C. L., and Devine, J. C. 1987. Late Cretaceous and paroxysmal Cretaceous/Tertiary extinctions. Nature, 326:143–149.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Raup, D. M. In press. The case for extraterrestrial causes of extinction. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London.Google Scholar
Rich, P. V., Rich, T. H., Wagstaff, B. E., Mason, J. M., Douthitt, C. B., Gregory, R. T., and Felton, E. A. 1988. Evidence for low temperatures and biologic diversity in Cretaceous high latitudes of Australia. Science, 242:1403–1406.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rinaldi, C. A., Massabie, A., Morelli, J., Rosenman, H. L., and Del Valle, R. 1978. Geologia de la Isla Vicecomodoro Marambio. Contribuciones Cientifica Instituto Antartico Argentino, 217:5–43.Google Scholar
Sadler, P. M. 1981. Sediment accumulation rates and the completeness of stratigraphic sections. Journal of Geology, 89:569–584.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sadler, P. M. 1988. Geometry and stratification of uppermost Cretaceous and Paleogene units on Seymour Island, northern Antarctic Peninsula, p. 303–320. In Feldmann, R. M. and Woodburne, M. O. (eds.), Geology and Paleontology of Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula. Geological Society of America Memoir 169.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Signor, P. W. III, and Lipps, J. H. 1982. Sampling bias, gradual extinction patterns and catastrophes in the fossil record, p. 291–296. In Silver, L. T. and Schultz, P. H. (eds.), Geological Implications of Impacts of Large Asteroids and Comets on the Earth. Geological Society of America Special Paper 190.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smit, J. 1982. Extinction and evolution of planktonic foraminifera after a major impact at the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary, p. 329–352. In Silver, L. T. and Schultz, P. H. (eds.), Geological Implications of Impacts of Large Asteroids and Comets on the Earth. Geological Society of America Special Paper 190.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smit, J., and Klaver, G. 1981. Sanidine spherules at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary indicate a large impact event. Nature, 292:47–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Surlyk, F., and Johansen, M. B. 1984. End-Cretaceous brachiopod extinctions in the Chalk of Denmark. Science, 223:1174–1177.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ward, P., Wiedmann, J., and Mount, J. F. 1986. Maastrichtian molluscan biostratigraphy and extinction patterns in a Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary section exposed at Zumaya, Spain. Geology, 14:899–903.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zinsmeister, W. J. 1982a. Review of the Upper Cretaceous-lower Tertiary sequence on Seymour Island, Antarctica. Journal of the Geological Society, 139:779–785.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zinsmeister, W. J. 1982b. First U.S. expedition to the James Ross Island area, Antarctic Peninsula. Antarctic Journal of the United States, 17:63–64.Google Scholar
Zinsmeister, W. J. 1984. Geology and paleontology of Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula. Antarctic Journal of the United States, 19:1–5.Google Scholar
Zinsmeister, W. J. 1985. 1985 Seymour Island expedition. Antarctic Journal of the United States, 20:41–42.Google Scholar
Zinsmeister, W. J., Feldmann, R. M., Woodburne, M. O., Kooser, M. A., and Askin, R. A. 1987. Faunal transitions across the K/T boundary in Antarctica. Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs, 19:906.Google Scholar
Zinsmeister, W. J., Feldmann, R. M., Woodburne, M. O., Kooser, M. A., and Macellari, C. E. 1983. Changes in the macrofossil faunas at the end of the Cretaceous on Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula. Antarctic Journal of the United States, 18:68–69.Google Scholar