Fireball passes and nothing burns—The role of thermal radiation in the Cretaceous-Tertiary event: Evidence from the charcoal record of North America

Abstract

Research Article| December 01, 2003 Fireball passes and nothing burns—The role of thermal radiation in the Cretaceous-Tertiary event: Evidence from the charcoal record of North America Claire M. Belcher; Claire M. Belcher 1 Department of Geology, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Margaret E. Collinson; Margaret E. Collinson 1 Department of Geology, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Arthur R. Sweet; Arthur R. Sweet 2Geological Survey of Canada, 3303 33rd Street NW, Calgary, Alberta T2L 2A7, Canada Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Alan R. Hildebrand; Alan R. Hildebrand 3Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Andrew C. Scott Andrew C. Scott 1 Department of Geology, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Claire M. Belcher 1 Department of Geology, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK Margaret E. Collinson 1 Department of Geology, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK Arthur R. Sweet 2Geological Survey of Canada, 3303 33rd Street NW, Calgary, Alberta T2L 2A7, Canada Alan R. Hildebrand 3Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada Andrew C. Scott 1 Department of Geology, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 01 Jul 2003 Revision Received: 25 Aug 2003 Accepted: 27 Aug 2003 First Online: 02 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 Geological Society of America Geology (2003) 31 (12): 1061–1064. https://doi.org/10.1130/G19989.1 Article history Received: 01 Jul 2003 Revision Received: 25 Aug 2003 Accepted: 27 Aug 2003 First Online: 02 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation Claire M. Belcher, Margaret E. Collinson, Arthur R. Sweet, Alan R. Hildebrand, Andrew C. Scott; Fireball passes and nothing burns—The role of thermal radiation in the Cretaceous-Tertiary event: Evidence from the charcoal record of North America. Geology 2003;; 31 (12): 1061–1064. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G19989.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract High soot contents have been reported in Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) sedimentary rocks, leading to the suggestion that the amount of thermal power delivered from the Chicxulub impact was sufficient to have ignited wildfires. Soot cannot be used to indicate fire location, however, as soot from one large fire could spread globally. Sources other than biomass burning could also yield soot. Charcoal in nonmarine sedimentary rocks (here quantified in situ in polished blocks) provides a unique tool to record the distribution of wildfires and therefore assess the extent of any thermal radiation associated with the impact at Chicxulub. The K-T and lowermost Tertiary sedimentary rocks of six nonma rine sequences (Colorado to Saskatchewan) contain no charcoal or below-background levels of charcoal and a significant quantity of noncharred organic materials, revealing that there was no distinctive wildfire across the North American continent related to the K-T event. This finding indicates that the K-T impact cannot have delivered a peak irradiance of >95 kW·m−2 of thermal power to the atmosphere and <19 kW·m−2 to the ground. Therefore, the thermal power delivered from the impact to North America did not have the destructive potential previously predicted. High amounts of thermal radiation were not responsible for the environmental perturbations or extinctions associated with the K-T event. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.