The early Danian hyperthermal event at Boltysh (Ukraine): relation to Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary events

Gilmour, Iain; Jolley, David; Kemp, David; Kelley, Simon; Gilmour, Mabs; Daly, Rob and Widdowson, Mike (2014). The early Danian hyperthermal event at Boltysh (Ukraine): relation to Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary events. In: Keller, Gerta and Kerr, Andrew C. eds. Volcanism, Impacts, and Mass Extinctions: Causes and Effects. Geological Society of America Special Papers (505). Boulder, CO: Geological Society of America, pp. 133–146.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1130/2014.2505(06)

Abstract

The Boltysh meteorite impact crater formed in the Ukrainian Shield on the margin of the Tethys Ocean a few thousand years before the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary and was rapidly filled by a freshwater lake. Sediments filling the lake vary from early lacustrine turbidites and silts to ~300 m of fine silts, organic carbon–rich muds, oil shales, and lamenites that record early Danian terrestrial climate signals at high temporal resolution. Combined carbon isotope and palynological data show that the fine-grained organic carbon–rich lacustrine sediments preserve a uniquely complete and detailed negative carbon isotope excursion in an expanded section of several hundred meters.

The position of the carbon isotope excursion in the early Danian stage of the Paleogene period, around 200 k.y. above the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary, leads us to correlate it to the Dan-C2 carbon isotope excursion recorded in marine sediments of the same age. The more complete Boltysh carbon isotope excursion record indicates a δ¹³C shift of around -3‰, but also a more extended recovery period, strikingly similar in pattern to the highest fidelity carbon isotope excursion records available for the Toarcian and Paleocene-Eocene hyperthermal events. Changes in floral communities through the carbon isotope excursion recorded at Boltysh reflect changing biomes caused by rapidly warming climate, followed by recovery, indicating that this early Danian hyperthermal event had a similar duration to the Toarcian and Paleocene-Eocene events.

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• Item ORO ID
• 41029
• Item Type
• Book Section
• ISBN
• 0-8137-2505-4, 978-0-8137-2505-5
• Project Funding Details

• Funded Project Name	Project ID	Funding Body
  The Boltysh meteorite impact, Ukarine: verification of a KT boundary multi-impact hypothesis	NE/D005043/1	NERC (Natural Environment Research Council)

• Keywords
• Danian; transient warming; hyperthermal; Dan-C2; stable isotopes; palynology; Deccan volcanism; climate change
• Academic Unit or School
• Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)
  Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) > Environment, Earth and Ecosystem Sciences
  Institute of Educational Technology (IET)
• Copyright Holders
• © 2014 Geological Society of America
• Depositing User
• Iain Gilmour