GERTA KELLER PUBLICATIONS

Intertrappean beds exposed between upper and lower traps of the Government and Sunnamrayalu quarries of Rajahmundry were analyzed based on benthic and planktic foraminifera, ostracodes and algae observed in thin sections. Planktic foraminifera indicate deposition occurred in the early Danian Parvularugoglobigerina eugubina (P1a) zone shortly after deposition of the lower trap flows. The most diverse planktic assemblages were deposited in limestones of the middle intertrappean interval and indicate an upper P1a age, or subzone P1a(2), as marked by the co-occurrence of P. eugubina, Globoconusa daubjergensis, Parasubbotina pseudobulloides and Subbotina triloculinoides. Reworked late Maastrichtian planktic foraminifera are common in a limestone interval and suggest erosion of uplifted Cretaceous sediments. Benthic foraminiferal assemblages indicate deposition occurred predominantly in shallow inner shelf to brackish environments. Similarly, ostracodes indicate variable environments ranging from inner neritic to brackish with fresh water influx, as also indicated by the presence of fresh water algae. These data confirm an overall deepening from restricted shallow marine to estuarine, lagoonal and finally open marine conditions followed by abrupt emersion and paleosoil deposition prior to the arrival of the upper trap flows at or near the base of C29n.

Recent advances in Deccan volcanic studies indicate three volcanic phases with the phase-1 at 67.5 Ma followed by a 2 m.y. period of quiescence. Phase-2 marks the main Deccan volcanic eruptions in Chron 29r near the end of the Maastrichtian and accounts for ∼80% of the entire 3500 m thick Deccan lava pile. At least four of the world’s longest lava flows spanning 1000 km across India and out into the Gulf of Bengal mark phase-2. The final phase-3 was smaller, coincided with the early Danian Chron 29n and also witnessed several of the longest lava flows.

The KT boundary and mass extinction was first discovered based on planktic foraminifera from shallow marine intertrappean sediments exposed in Rajahmundry quarries between the longest lava flows of the main volcanic phase-2 and smaller phase-3. At this locality early Danian (zone P1a) planktic foraminiferal assemblages directly overlie the top of phase-2 eruptions and indicate that the masse extinction coincided with the end of this volcanic phase. Planktic foraminiferal assemblages also mark the KT boundary in intertrappean sediments at Jhilmili, Chhindwara, where freshwater to estuarine conditions prevailed during the early Danian and indicate the presence of a marine seaway across India at KT time.

Dinosaur bones, nesting sites with complete eggs and abundant eggshells are known from central India surrounding the hypothesized seaway through the Narmada-Tapti rift zone. A Maastrichtian age is generally assigned to these dinosaur remains. Age control may now be improved based on marine microfossils from sequences deposited in the seaway and correlating these strata to nearby terrestrial sequences with dinosaur remains.

Deccan intertrappean sediments in central India are generally considered as terrestrial deposits of Maastrichtian age, but the Cretaceous–Tertiary (K–T) position is still unknown. Here we report the discovery of the K–T transition, a marine incursion and environmental changes preserved within the intertrappean sediments at Jhilmili, Chhindwara District, Madhya Pradesh. Integrative biostratigraphic, sedimentologic, mineralogic and chemostratigraphic analyses reveal the basal Danian in the intertrappean sediments between lower and upper trap basalts that regionally correspond to C29r and the C29R/C29N transition, respectively. Intertrappean deposition occurred in predominantly terrestrial semi-humid to arid environments. But a short aquatic interval of fresh water ponds and lakes followed by shallow coastal marine conditions with brackish marine ostracods and early Danian zone P1a planktic foraminifera mark this interval very close to the K–T boundary. This marine incursion marks the existence of a nearby seaway, probably extending inland from the west through the Narmada and Tapti rift valleys. The Jhilmili results thus identify the K–T boundary near the end of the main phase of Deccan eruptions and indicate that a major seaway extended at least 800 km across India.

The central coast of Belize has been subject to hurricane strikes throughout recorded history with immense human and material cost to the Belizean people. What remains unknown is the long-term frequency of hurricane strikes and the effects such storms may have had on the ancient Maya civilization. Our sedimentary study of major hurricane strikes over the past 5000 years provides preliminary insights. We calculate that over the past 500 years major hurricanes have struck the Belize coast on average once every decade. One giant hurricane with probably particularly catastrophic consequences struck Belize sometime before AD 1500. A temporal clustering of hurricanes suggests two periods of hyperactivity between ∼4500 and 2500 14C yr BP, which supports a regional model of latitudinal migration of hurricane strike zones. Our preliminary hurricane data, including the extreme apparent size of the giant event, suggest that prehistoric hurricanes were capable of having exerted significant environmental stress in Maya antiquity.   PDF

Profound biotic changes accompanied the late Cenomanian δ13C excursion and OAE2 in planktic foraminifera in the Tarfaya Basin of Morocco. Planktic foraminifera experienced a severe turnover, though no mass extinction, beginning with the rapid δ13C excursion and accelerating with the influx of oxic bottom waters during the first peak and trough of the excursion. Species extinctions equaled the number of evolving species, though only the disaster opportunists Guembelitria and Hedbergella thrived along with a low oxygen tolerant benthic assemblage. The succeeding δ13C plateau and organic-rich black shale deposition marks the anoxic event and maximum biotic stress accompanied by a prolonged drop in diversity to just two species, the dominant (80–90%) low oxygen tolerant Heterohelix moremani and surface dweller Hedbergella planispira. After the anoxic event other species returned, but remained rare and sporadically present well into the lower Turonian, whereas Heterohelix moremani remained the single dominant species. The OAE2 biotic turnover suggests that the stress to calcareous plankton was related to changes in the watermass stratification, intensity of upwelling, nutrient flux and oxic levels in the water column driven by changes in climate and oceanic circulation. Results presented here demonstrate a 4-stage pattern of biotic response to the onset, duration, and recovery of OAE2 that is observed widely across the Tethys and its bordering epicontinental seas.  PDF

With a multi-proxy approach, an attempt was made to constrain productivity and bottom-water redox conditions and their effects on the phosphorus accumulation rate at the Mohammed Plage section on the Tarfaya coast, Morocco, during the Cenomanian-Turonian Anoxic Event (OAE 2). A distinct δ13Corg isotope excursion of +2.5‰ occurs close to the top of the section. The unusually abrupt shift of the isotope excursion and disappearance of several planktonic foraminiferal species (e.g. Rotalipora cushmani and Rotalipora greenhornensis) in this level suggests a hiatus of between 40–60 kyrs at the excursion onset. Nevertheless, it was possible to determine both the long-term environmental history as well as the processes that took place immediately prior to and during OAE 2. TOC% values increase gradually from the base of the section to the top (from ∼2.5% to ∼10%). This is interpreted as the consequence of a long-term eustatic sea-level rise and subsidence causing the encroachment of less oxic waters into the Tarfaya Basin. Similarly a reduction in the mineralogically constructed ‘detrital index’ can be explained by the decrease in the continental flux of terrigenous material due to a relative sea-level rise. A speciation of phosphorus in the upper part of the section, which spans the start and mid-stages of OAE 2, shows overall higher abundances of Preactive mass accumulation rates before the isotope excursion onset and lower values during the plateau. Due to the probable short hiatus, the onset of the decrease in phosphorus content relative to the isotope excursion is uncertain, although the excursion plateau already contains lower concentrations. The Corg/Ptotal and V/Al ratios suggest that this reduction was mostly likely caused by a decrease in the available bottom oxygen content (probably as a result of higher productivity) and a corresponding fall in the phosphorus retention ability of the sediment. Productivity appears to have remained high during the isotope plateau possibly due to a combination of ocean-surface fertilisation via increased aridity (increased K/Al and Ti/Al ratios) and/or higher dissolved inorganic phosphorus content in the water column as a result of the decrease in sediment P retention. The evidence for decreased P-burial has been observed in many other palaeoenvironments during OAE 2. Tarfaya's unique upwelling paleosituation provides strong evidence that the nutrient recycling was a global phenomenon and therefore a critical factor in starting and sustaining OAE 2.  PDF

Large impacts are credited with the most devastating mass extinctions in Earth's history and the Cretaceous – Tertiary (K/T) boundary impact is the strongest and sole direct support for this view. A review of the five largest Phanerozoic mass extinctions provides no support that impacts with craters up to 180 km in diameter caused significant species extinctions. This includes the 170 km-diameter Chicxulub impact crater regarded as 0.3 million years older than the K/T mass extinction. A second, larger impact event may have been the ultimate cause of this mass extinction, as suggested by a global iridium anomaly at the K/T boundary, but no crater has been found to date. The current crater database suggests that multiple impacts, for example comet showers, were the norm, rather than the exception, during the Late Eocene, K/T transition, latest Triassic and the Devonian – Carboniferous transition, but did not cause significant species extinctions. Whether multiple impacts substantially contributed to greenhouse warming and associated environmental stresses is yet to be demonstrated. From the current database, it must be concluded that no known Phanerozoic impacts, including the Chicxulub impact (but excluding the K/T impact) caused mass extinctions or even significant species extinctions. The K/T mass extinction may have been caused by the coincidence of a very large impact (> 250 km) upon a highly stressed biotic environment as a result of volcanism. The consistent association of large magmatic provinces (large igneous provinces and continental flood-basalt provinces) with all but one (end-Ordovician) of the five major Phanerozoic mass extinctions suggests that volcanism played a major role. Faunal and geochemical evidence from the end-Permian, end-Devonian, end-Cretaceous and Triassic/Jurassic transition suggests that the biotic stress was due to a lethal combination of tectonically induced hydrothermal and volcanic processes, leading to eutrophication in the oceans, global warming, sea-level transgression and ocean anoxia. It must be concluded that major magmatic events and their long-term environmental consequences are major contributors, though not the sole causes of mass extinctions. Sudden mass extinctions, such as at the K/T boundary, may require the coincidence of major volcanism and a very large Impact.  PDF

The investigation of eight Cretaceous–Tertiary (K/T) sections in Mexico, based on major and trace element, platinum group element (PGE), stable isotope, and multivariate statistical analysis, reveals a complex depositional history across the Chicxulub and K/T boundary events. At the biostratigraphically determined K/T boundary, a minor but significant Ir-dominated PGE anomaly (0.2– 0.8 ng/g) is present in most sections. This Ir anomaly originated from an impact event and is always stratigraphically and geochemically decoupled from the underlying spherule-rich ejecta deposit related to the Chicxulub event. In all sections examined, one to three glass spherule ejecta layers and one or two chondrite-dominated PGE anomalies are separated by a bioturbated siliciclastic deposit and/or hemipelagic marl, which indicates the occurrence of at least two impact events separated by a considerable amount of time. In addition, bentonite layers and Pt and Pd-dominated PGE anomalies below and above the K/T boundary indicate volcanic activity. Above the K/T boundary, reduced bioproductivity is documented by a decrease in the biogenically bound fraction of nutrients and fluctuating ratios of immobile elements (e.g., Ti/Zr). Variations in detrital elements reflect changes in the depositional environment. Carbon and oxygen isotope and trace element distribution patterns indicate a gradually changing climate during the latest Maastrichtian, an abrupt change at the K/T boundary, and a slight recovery during the lowermost Paleocene.  PDF

Seit der Entdeckung des ChicxulubAsteroidenkraters auf der südmexikanischen Halbinsel Yucatán im Jahr l990 (Abb. 1) wird dieser Krater für das Aussterben der Dinosaurier und zahlreicher weiterer Tiergruppen verantwortlich gemacht. Der Einschlag (Impakt2 ) vor rund 65 Millionen Jahren soll eine weltweite Feuerwalze und gigantische Flutwellen verursacht haben, und der aufgewirbelte Staub und Russ soll zur totalen Verdunkelung der Atmosphäre geführt haben. Zurück blieb der Todeskrater. – Ein wunderbares Skript, wie gemacht für Film und Fernsehen. Und so fand die Story in den letzten 15 Jahren Eingang in die öffentliche Meinung und wurde so auch in der wissenschaftlichen Literatur oft als Faktum dargestellt. Aber entspricht sie der Wahrheit? Reichen die wissenschaftlichen Belege aus, um diese Theorie zu untermauern?   PDF

Yaxcopoil-1 (Yax-1), drilled within the Chicxulub crater, was expected to yield the final proof that this impact occurred precisely 65 Myr ago and caused the mass extinction at the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K/T) boundary. Instead, contrary evidence was discovered based on five independent proxies (sedimentologic, biostratigraphic, magnetostratigraphic, stable isotopic, and iridium) that revealed that the Chicxulub impact predates the K/T boundary by about 300,000 years and could not have caused the mass extinction. This is demonstrated by the presence of five bioturbated glauconite layers and planktic foraminiferal assemblages of the latest Maastrichtian zone CF1 and is corroborated by magnetostratigraphic chron 29r and characteristic late Maastrichtian stable isotope signals. These results were first presented in Keller et al. (2004). In this study, we present more detailed evidence of the presence of late Maastrichtian planktic foraminifera, sedimentologic, and mineralogic analyses that demonstrate that the Chicxulub impact breccia predates the K/T boundary and that the sediments between the breccia and the K/T boundary were deposited in a normal marine environment during the last 300,000 years of the Cretaceous.  PDF

The eastern Tethys, from Israel to Egypt, experienced unusually adverse environmental conditions for planktic foraminifera during the last two million years of the Maastrichtian, as evident by very low species richness, blooms of opportunistic Guembelitria species in surface waters, dominance of low-oxygen-tolerant heterohelicids in subsurface waters, and near absence of deeper dwelling globotruncanids. Comparison of southern Israel (Mishor Rotem section) with central Egypt (Gebel Qreiya section) reveals that adverse conditions intensified towards the south with foraminiferal assemblages mimicking stress conditions of the early Danian, dominated (75– 90%) by Guembelitria blooms. Faunal assemblages indicate an expanded oxygen minimum and dysoxic zone throughout the region, though at the greater depths represented by localities of southern Israel, bottom waters remained aerobic. Primary productivity was extremely low, as indicated by stable isotopes and low total organic content in sediments. These adverse environmental conditions are likely related to the regional paleobathymetry of the tectonically active Syrian Arc that spans Syria to Egypt. The paleorelief of intra-shelf and intra-slope basins of the Syrian Arc, with their differential rates of subsidence and sedimentation, active folding and faulting, likely controlled the intensity of circulation, upwelling, watermass stratification and the extent of the oxygen minimum zone. The late Maastrichtian rapid climate and sea level changes exacerbated these conditions.  PDF

CSDP core Yaxcopoil-1 was drilled to a depth of 1,511 m within the Chicxulub crater. An organic-rich marly limestone near the base of the hole (1,495 to 1,452 m) was deposited in an open marine shelf environment during the latest Cenomanian (uppermost Rotalipora cushmani zone). The overlying sequence of limestones, dolomites and anhydrites (1,495 to 894 m) indicates deposition in various carbonate platform environments (e.g., sabkhas, lagoons). A 100-m-thick suevite breccia (894–794 m) identifies the Chicxulub impact event. Above the suevite breccia is a dolomitic limestone with planktic foraminiferal assemblages indicative of Plummerita hantkeninoides zone CF1, which spans the last 300 ky of the Maastrichtian. An erosional surface 50 cm above the breccia/dolomite contact marks the K/T boundary and a hiatus. Limestones above this contact contain the first Tertiary planktic foraminifera indicative of an upper P. eugubina zone P1a(2) age. Another hiatus 7 cm upsection separates zone P1a(2) and hemipelagic limestones of planktic foraminiferal Zone P1c. Planktic foraminiferal assemblages of Zone Plc to P3b age are present from a depth of 794.04 up to 775 m. The Cretaceous carbonate sequence appears to be autochthonous, with a stratigraphic sequence comparable to late Cretaceous sediments known from outside the Chicxulub crater in northern and southern Yucatan, including the late Cenomanian organic-rich marly limestone. There is no evidence that these sediments represent crater infill due to megablocks sliding into the crater, such as major disruption of sediments, chaotic changes in lithology, overturned or deep dipping megablocks, major mechanical fragmentation, shock or thermal alteration, or ductile deformation. Breccia units that are intercalated in the carbonate platform sequence are intraformational in origin (e.g., dissolution of evaporites) and dykes are rare. Major disturbances of strata by the impact therefore appear to have been confined to within less than 60 km from the proposed impact center. Yaxcopoil-1 may be located outside the collapsed transient crater cavity, either on the upper end of an elevated and tilted horst of the terrace zone, or even outside the annular crater cavity. The Chicxulub site thus records a large impact that predates the K/T boundary impact and mass extinction.  PDF

Depth habitats of 56 late Cretaceous planktonic foraminiferal species from cool and warm climate modes were determined based on stable isotope analyses of deep-sea samples from the equatorial Pacific DSDP Sites 577A and 463, and South Atlantic DSDP Site 525A. The following conclusions can be reached: Planoglobulina multicamerata (De Klasz) and Heterohelix rajagopalani (Govindan) occupied the deepest plankton habitats, followed by Abathomphalus mayaroensis (Bolli), Globotruncanella havanensis (Voorwijk), Gublerina cuvillieri Kikoine, and Laeviheterohelix glabrans (Cushman) also at subthermocline depth. Most keeled globotruncanids, and possibly Globigerinelliodes and Racemiguembelina species, lived at or within the thermocline layer. Heterohelix globulosa (Ehrenberg) and Rugoglobigerina, Pseudotextularia and Planoglobulina occupied the subsurface depth of the mixed layer, and Pseudoguembelina species inhabited the surface mixed layer. However, depth ranking of some species varied depending on warm or cool climate modes, and late Campanian or Maastrichtian age. For example, most keeled globotruncanids occupied similar shallow subsurface habitats as Rugoglobigerina during the warm late Campanian, but occupied the deeper thermocline layer during cool climatic intervals. Two distinct types of ‘vital effect’ mechanisms reflecting photosymbiosis and respiration effects can be recognized by the exceptional N13C signals of some species. (1) Photosymbiosis is implied by the repetitive pattern of relatively enriched N13C values of Racemiguembelina (strongest), Planoglobulina, Rosita and Rugoglobigerina species, Pseudoguembelina excolata (weakest). (2) Enriched respiration 12C products are recognized in A. mayaroensis, Gublerina acuta De Klasz, and Heterohelix planata (Cushman). Isotopic trends between samples suggest that photosymbiotic activities varied between localities or during different climate modes, and may have ceased under certain environmental conditions. The appearance of most photosymbiotic species in the late Maastrichtian suggests oligotrophic conditions associated with increased water-mass stratification.  PDF