1 / 14

The KT mass extinction boundary

The KT mass extinction boundary. Ha Ha!. KT (Cretaceous Tertiary) Boundary. Layer exists simultaneously world wide Layer marks the transition from the Mesozoic era to the Cenozoic Layer Marks the transition from the Cretaceous to the Tertiary

bernard-oneill
Download Presentation

The KT mass extinction boundary

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. The KT mass extinction boundary Ha Ha!

  2. KT (Cretaceous Tertiary) Boundary • Layer exists simultaneously world wide • Layer marks the transition from the Mesozoic era to the Cenozoic • Layer Marks the transition from the Cretaceous to the Tertiary • Layer had 30-130 times the normal amount of the element Iridium

  3. Alvarez impact hypothesis

  4. Devastation Sequence • Asteroid impacts Earth • Ejecta is sent into atmosphere • Material blocks sunlight for months to years • Impact crater and fallout layer are the only evidence

  5. Chicxulub

  6. Chicxulub • The crater is buried under the tip of the Yucatan peninsula • Crater is 110 miles wide • Crater is 65.5 millions years old • Crater is named after the Mayan word for (Tail of the Devil)

  7. Chicxulub Gravity Anomaly

  8. Other Theories • Deccan Traps • Sea level Regression • Multiple impacts • Multiple events

  9. The Deccan traps

  10. Deccan Traps • South West India • Area 500,000sqkm • 2000m thick • May have lasted 30,000 years

  11. Maastrichtian sea-level regression • Reduction of continental shelf area • Reefs and Plankton my have been seriously damaged • Epeiric seas would have disappeared

  12. Multiple Events • Extinction was gradual and involved the loss of species and genera. • Dinosaurs, air and marine reptiles were picked off by a combination of all these sequential events.

  13. State of the art re-creation • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0aHXSmCstk

More Related