GEL 12 Lecture Notes - Lecture 17: Deccan Traps, Paleogene, Gravity Anomaly
1. What is the K/Pg (or K/T) boundary?
a. K/T: Cretaceous/Tertiary
i. “Tertiary” is an outdated term referring to the part of the Cenozoic before
the Quaternary
b. K/Pg: Cretaceous/Paleogene
i. Paleogene is the first segment of the Cenozoic containing the Paleocene,
Eocene, and Oligocene
c. K/Pg Boundary in Gubbio, Italy
d. Iridium Spike
i. Extraterrestrial material or found deep in the earth
ii. Big asteroid may have come from outer space
2. Was there a gradual decline of dinosaur diversity before the K/T boundary?
a. Statistically speaking, the dinosaurian diversity did not decrease gradually before
the K/Pg mass extinction
3. What are the Deccan Traps?
a. Volcanic material from eruption in western India
i. The whole place was covered in lava
ii. Eruption can only occur when there is a very high concentration of magma
underground
iii. Magma prevented from escaping, so it accumulated a long time -> bigger
eruption
iv. The magma flows easier because it loses more crystals after being
accumulated
b. Layers and layers of lava flows from different ages
i. Started long before K/Pg and ended after K/Pg
ii. Green house effect, acid rain, rising temperatures
4. What is the Chicxulub Crater?
a. Giant crater in northern part of peninsula in Mexico
b. Gravity anomaly
c. Impact Breccias on the side of the crater
i. Impact melt sheet in the middle
ii. Central uplift
d. Impact direction could decide the fate or what survived
5. Was it an instantaneous kill?
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