Skip to main content
  • Submit
  • About
    • Editorial Board
    • PNAS Staff
    • FAQ
    • Accessibility Statement
    • Rights and Permissions
    • Site Map
  • Contact
  • Journal Club
  • Subscribe
    • Subscription Rates
    • Subscriptions FAQ
    • Open Access
    • Recommend PNAS to Your Librarian
  • Log in
  • My Cart

Main menu

  • Home
  • Articles
    • Current
    • Special Feature Articles - Most Recent
    • Special Features
    • Colloquia
    • Collected Articles
    • PNAS Classics
    • List of Issues
  • Front Matter
  • News
    • For the Press
    • This Week In PNAS
    • PNAS in the News
  • Podcasts
  • Authors
    • Information for Authors
    • Editorial and Journal Policies
    • Submission Procedures
    • Fees and Licenses
  • Submit
  • About
    • Editorial Board
    • PNAS Staff
    • FAQ
    • Accessibility Statement
    • Rights and Permissions
    • Site Map
  • Contact
  • Journal Club
  • Subscribe
    • Subscription Rates
    • Subscriptions FAQ
    • Open Access
    • Recommend PNAS to Your Librarian

User menu

  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
Home
Home

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Articles
    • Current
    • Special Feature Articles - Most Recent
    • Special Features
    • Colloquia
    • Collected Articles
    • PNAS Classics
    • List of Issues
  • Front Matter
  • News
    • For the Press
    • This Week In PNAS
    • PNAS in the News
  • Podcasts
  • Authors
    • Information for Authors
    • Editorial and Journal Policies
    • Submission Procedures
    • Fees and Licenses

New Research In

Physical Sciences

Featured Portals

  • Physics
  • Chemistry
  • Sustainability Science

Articles by Topic

  • Applied Mathematics
  • Applied Physical Sciences
  • Astronomy
  • Computer Sciences
  • Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
  • Engineering
  • Environmental Sciences
  • Mathematics
  • Statistics

Social Sciences

Featured Portals

  • Anthropology
  • Sustainability Science

Articles by Topic

  • Economic Sciences
  • Environmental Sciences
  • Political Sciences
  • Psychological and Cognitive Sciences
  • Social Sciences

Biological Sciences

Featured Portals

  • Sustainability Science

Articles by Topic

  • Agricultural Sciences
  • Anthropology
  • Applied Biological Sciences
  • Biochemistry
  • Biophysics and Computational Biology
  • Cell Biology
  • Developmental Biology
  • Ecology
  • Environmental Sciences
  • Evolution
  • Genetics
  • Immunology and Inflammation
  • Medical Sciences
  • Microbiology
  • Neuroscience
  • Pharmacology
  • Physiology
  • Plant Biology
  • Population Biology
  • Psychological and Cognitive Sciences
  • Sustainability Science
  • Systems Biology
Research Article

The first day of the Cenozoic

View ORCID ProfileSean P. S. Gulick, Timothy J. Bralower, Jens Ormö, Brendon Hall, Kliti Grice, Bettina Schaefer, Shelby Lyons, Katherine H. Freeman, Joanna V. Morgan, Natalia Artemieva, Pim Kaskes, View ORCID ProfileSietze J. de Graaff, View ORCID ProfileMichael T. Whalen, View ORCID ProfileGareth S. Collins, Sonia M. Tikoo, Christina Verhagen, Gail L. Christeson, Philippe Claeys, Marco J. L. Coolen, View ORCID ProfileSteven Goderis, Kazuhisa Goto, Richard A. F. Grieve, Naoma McCall, Gordon R. Osinski, Auriol S. P. Rae, Ulrich Riller, Jan Smit, Vivi Vajda, View ORCID ProfileAxel Wittmann, and the Expedition 364 Scientists
PNAS September 24, 2019 116 (39) 19342-19351; first published September 9, 2019; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1909479116
Sean P. S. Gulick
aInstitute for Geophysics, Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78758;
bDepartment of Geological Sciences, Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 79712;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Sean P. S. Gulick
  • For correspondence: sean@ig.utexas.edu
Timothy J. Bralower
cDepartment of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16801;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Jens Ormö
dCentro de Astrobiología Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial-Spanish National Research Council (INTA-CSIC), Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, 28850 Torrejon de Ardoz, Spain;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Brendon Hall
eEnthought, Inc., Austin, TX 78701;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Kliti Grice
fWestern Australian Organic and Isotope Geochemistry Centre, The Institute for Geoscience Research, School of Earth and Planetary Science, Curtin University, Perth, WA 6102, Australia;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Bettina Schaefer
fWestern Australian Organic and Isotope Geochemistry Centre, The Institute for Geoscience Research, School of Earth and Planetary Science, Curtin University, Perth, WA 6102, Australia;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Shelby Lyons
cDepartment of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16801;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Katherine H. Freeman
cDepartment of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16801;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Joanna V. Morgan
gDepartment of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ London, United Kingdom;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Natalia Artemieva
hPlanetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ 85719-2395;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Pim Kaskes
iAnalytical, Environmental and Geo-Chemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Sietze J. de Graaff
iAnalytical, Environmental and Geo-Chemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Sietze J. de Graaff
Michael T. Whalen
jDepartment of Geosciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Michael T. Whalen
Gareth S. Collins
gDepartment of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ London, United Kingdom;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Gareth S. Collins
Sonia M. Tikoo
kDepartment of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08854;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Christina Verhagen
kDepartment of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08854;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Gail L. Christeson
aInstitute for Geophysics, Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78758;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Philippe Claeys
iAnalytical, Environmental and Geo-Chemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Marco J. L. Coolen
fWestern Australian Organic and Isotope Geochemistry Centre, The Institute for Geoscience Research, School of Earth and Planetary Science, Curtin University, Perth, WA 6102, Australia;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Steven Goderis
iAnalytical, Environmental and Geo-Chemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Steven Goderis
Kazuhisa Goto
lInternational Research Institute of Disaster Science, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8572, Japan;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Richard A. F. Grieve
mDepartment of Earth Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, N6A 3K7, Canada;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Naoma McCall
aInstitute for Geophysics, Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78758;
bDepartment of Geological Sciences, Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 79712;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Gordon R. Osinski
mDepartment of Earth Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, N6A 3K7, Canada;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Auriol S. P. Rae
gDepartment of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ London, United Kingdom;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Ulrich Riller
nInstitut für Geologie, Universität Hamburg, 20146 Hamburg, Germany;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Jan Smit
oFaculty of Earth and Life Sciences (FALW), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Vivi Vajda
pSwedish Museum of Natural History, 114 18 Stockholm, Sweden;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Axel Wittmann
qEyring Materials Center, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-1704
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Axel Wittmann
  1. Edited by Michael Manga, University of California, Berkeley, CA, and approved July 30, 2019 (received for review June 5, 2019)

  • Article
  • Figures & SI
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF
Loading

Significance

Chicxulub impact crater cores from the peak ring include ∼130 m of impact melt rock and breccia deposited on the first day of the Cenozoic. Within minutes of the impact, fluidized basement rocks formed a ring of hills, which were rapidly covered by ∼40 m of impact melt and breccia. Within an hour, ocean waters flooded the deep crater through a northeast embayment, depositing another 90 m of breccia. Within a day, a tsunami deposited material from distant shorelines, including charcoal. Charcoal and absence of sulfur-rich target rocks support the importance of impact-generated fires and release of sulfate aerosols for global cooling and darkness postimpact.

Abstract

Highly expanded Cretaceous–Paleogene (K-Pg) boundary section from the Chicxulub peak ring, recovered by International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP)–International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) Expedition 364, provides an unprecedented window into the immediate aftermath of the impact. Site M0077 includes ∼130 m of impact melt rock and suevite deposited the first day of the Cenozoic covered by <1 m of micrite-rich carbonate deposited over subsequent weeks to years. We present an interpreted series of events based on analyses of these drill cores. Within minutes of the impact, centrally uplifted basement rock collapsed outward to form a peak ring capped in melt rock. Within tens of minutes, the peak ring was covered in ∼40 m of brecciated impact melt rock and coarse-grained suevite, including clasts possibly generated by melt–water interactions during ocean resurge. Within an hour, resurge crested the peak ring, depositing a 10-m-thick layer of suevite with increased particle roundness and sorting. Within hours, the full resurge deposit formed through settling and seiches, resulting in an 80-m-thick fining-upward, sorted suevite in the flooded crater. Within a day, the reflected rim-wave tsunami reached the crater, depositing a cross-bedded sand-to-fine gravel layer enriched in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons overlain by charcoal fragments. Generation of a deep crater open to the ocean allowed rapid flooding and sediment accumulation rates among the highest known in the geologic record. The high-resolution section provides insight into the impact environmental effects, including charcoal as evidence for impact-induced wildfires and a paucity of sulfur-rich evaporites from the target supporting rapid global cooling and darkness as extinction mechanisms.

  • Chicxulub impact crater
  • suevite
  • Cretaceous–Paleogene
  • peak ring
  • tsunami

Footnotes

  • ↵1To whom correspondence may be addressed. Email: sean{at}ig.utexas.edu.
  • ↵2A complete list of the Expedition 364 Scientists can be found in SI Appendix.

  • Author contributions: S.P.S.G., J.V.M., and G.L.C. designed research; S.P.S.G., T.J.B., J.O., B.H., K. Grice, B.S., S.L., K.H.F., J.V.M., N.A., P.K., S.J.d.G., M.T.W., G.S.C., S.M.T., C.V., G.L.C., P.C., M.J.L.C., S.G., K. Goto, N.M., G.R.O., A.S.P.R., U.R., J.S., V.V., A.W., and E.364.S. performed research; S.P.S.G., T.J.B., J.O., K. Grice, B.S., S.L., K.H.F., J.V.M., N.A., P.K., M.T.W., G.S.C., S.M.T., C.V., G.L.C., P.C., M.J.L.C., S.G., R.A.F.G., N.M., G.R.O., A.S.P.R., U.R., V.V., and A.W. analyzed data; and S.P.S.G., T.J.B., and J.V.M. wrote the paper.

  • The authors declare no conflict of interest.

  • This article is a PNAS Direct Submission.

  • Data deposition: All data are deposited with the International Ocean Discovery Program, iodp.pangea.de (Expedition 364).

  • This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1073/pnas.1909479116/-/DCSupplemental.

Published under the PNAS license.

View Full Text
PreviousNext
Back to top
Article Alerts
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on PNAS.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
The first day of the Cenozoic
(Your Name) has sent you a message from PNAS
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the PNAS web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Citation Tools
The first day of the Cenozoic
Sean P. S. Gulick, Timothy J. Bralower, Jens Ormö, Brendon Hall, Kliti Grice, Bettina Schaefer, Shelby Lyons, Katherine H. Freeman, Joanna V. Morgan, Natalia Artemieva, Pim Kaskes, Sietze J. de Graaff, Michael T. Whalen, Gareth S. Collins, Sonia M. Tikoo, Christina Verhagen, Gail L. Christeson, Philippe Claeys, Marco J. L. Coolen, Steven Goderis, Kazuhisa Goto, Richard A. F. Grieve, Naoma McCall, Gordon R. Osinski, Auriol S. P. Rae, Ulrich Riller, Jan Smit, Vivi Vajda, Axel Wittmann, the Expedition 364 Scientists
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Sep 2019, 116 (39) 19342-19351; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1909479116

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Request Permissions
Share
The first day of the Cenozoic
Sean P. S. Gulick, Timothy J. Bralower, Jens Ormö, Brendon Hall, Kliti Grice, Bettina Schaefer, Shelby Lyons, Katherine H. Freeman, Joanna V. Morgan, Natalia Artemieva, Pim Kaskes, Sietze J. de Graaff, Michael T. Whalen, Gareth S. Collins, Sonia M. Tikoo, Christina Verhagen, Gail L. Christeson, Philippe Claeys, Marco J. L. Coolen, Steven Goderis, Kazuhisa Goto, Richard A. F. Grieve, Naoma McCall, Gordon R. Osinski, Auriol S. P. Rae, Ulrich Riller, Jan Smit, Vivi Vajda, Axel Wittmann, the Expedition 364 Scientists
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Sep 2019, 116 (39) 19342-19351; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1909479116
Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Mendeley logo Mendeley
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: 116 (39)
Table of Contents

Submit

Sign up for Article Alerts

Article Classifications

  • Physical Sciences
  • Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences

Jump to section

  • Article
    • Abstract
    • Observations of the K-Pg Boundary Sedimentary Sequence
    • Interpretation for Impact Processes
    • Broader Implications
    • Methods
    • Acknowledgments
    • Footnotes
    • References
  • Figures & SI
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF

You May Also be Interested in

Abstract depiction of a guitar and musical note
Science & Culture: At the nexus of music and medicine, some see disease treatments
Although the evidence is still limited, a growing body of research suggests music may have beneficial effects for diseases such as Parkinson’s.
Image credit: Shutterstock/agsandrew.
Scientist looking at an electronic tablet
Opinion: Standardizing gene product nomenclature—a call to action
Biomedical communities and journals need to standardize nomenclature of gene products to enhance accuracy in scientific and public communication.
Image credit: Shutterstock/greenbutterfly.
One red and one yellow modeled protein structures
Journal Club: Study reveals evolutionary origins of fold-switching protein
Shapeshifting designs could have wide-ranging pharmaceutical and biomedical applications in coming years.
Image credit: Acacia Dishman/Medical College of Wisconsin.
White and blue bird
Hazards of ozone pollution to birds
Amanda Rodewald, Ivan Rudik, and Catherine Kling talk about the hazards of ozone pollution to birds.
Listen
Past PodcastsSubscribe
Goats standing in a pin
Transplantation of sperm-producing stem cells
CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing can improve the effectiveness of spermatogonial stem cell transplantation in mice and livestock, a study finds.
Image credit: Jon M. Oatley.

Similar Articles

Site Logo
Powered by HighWire
  • Submit Manuscript
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • RSS Feeds
  • Email Alerts

Articles

  • Current Issue
  • Latest Articles
  • Archive

PNAS Portals

  • Anthropology
  • Chemistry
  • Classics
  • Front Matter
  • Physics
  • Sustainability Science
  • Teaching Resources

Information

  • Authors
  • Editorial Board
  • Reviewers
  • Librarians
  • Press
  • Site Map
  • PNAS Updates

Feedback    Privacy/Legal

Copyright © 2021 National Academy of Sciences. Online ISSN 1091-6490