Evidence for a Major Meteorite Impact on the Earth 34 Million Years Ago: Implication for Eocene Extinctions

作者：Ramachandran Ganapathy · 发表于：Science · 年份：1982 · DOI：10.1126/science.216.4548.885 · 被引用次数：105 · 研究领域：Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils、Astro and Planetary Science、Geological and Geochemical Analysis

A deep-sea core from the Caribbean contains a layer of sediment highly enriched in meteoritic iridium. This layer underlies a layer of North American microtektites dated at 34.4 million years ago and coincides with the extinction of five major species of Radiolaria. It is suggested that a massive, chemically undifferentiated meteorite collided with the earth, producing the tektites and leading to extinctions 34 million years ago.