Probing the hydrothermal system of the Chicxulub impact crater

Kring, D. A. et al. (2020) Probing the hydrothermal system of the Chicxulub impact crater. Science Advances, 6(22), eaaz3053. (doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aaz3053) (PMID:32523986) (PMCID:PMC7259942)

Abstract

The ~180-km-diameter Chicxulub peak-ring crater and ~240-km multiring basin, produced by the impact that terminated the Cretaceous, is the largest remaining intact impact basin on Earth. International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) and International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) Expedition 364 drilled to a depth of 1335 m below the sea floor into the peak ring, providing a unique opportunity to study the thermal and chemical modification of Earth’s crust caused by the impact. The recovered core shows the crater hosted a spatially extensive hydrothermal system that chemically and mineralogically modified ~1.4 × 105 km3 of Earth’s crust, a volume more than nine times that of the Yellowstone Caldera system. Initially, high temperatures of 300° to 400°C and an independent geomagnetic polarity clock indicate the hydrothermal system was long lived, in excess of 106 years.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Pickersgill, Dr Annemarie
• Authors: Kring, D. A., Tikoo, S. M., Schmieder, M., Riller, U., Rebolledo-Vieyra, M., Simpson, S. L., Osinski, G. R., Gattacceca, J., Wittmann, A., Verhagen, C. M., Cockell, C. S., Coolen, M. J. L., Longstaffe, F. J., Gulick, S. P. S., Morgan, J. V., Bralower, T. J., Chenot, E., Christeson, G. L., Claeys, P., Ferrière, L., Gebhardt, C., Goto, K., Green, S. L., Jones, H., Lofi, J., Lowery, C. M., Ocampo-Torres, R., Perez-Cruz, L., Pickersgill, A. E., Poelchau, M. H., Rae, A. S. P., Rasmussen, C., Sato, H., Smit, J., Tomioka, N., Urrutia-Fucugauchi, J., Whalen, M. T., Xiao, L., and Yamaguchi, K. E.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre
• Journal Name: Science Advances
• Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science
• ISSN: 2375-2548
• ISSN (Online): 2375-2548
• Published Online: 29 May 2020
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2020 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Science Advances 6(22): eaaz3053
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons license