Asteroid-impact theory

The historical background is presented for the asteroid-impact theory that is based on the iridium anomaly found in rocks frm the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary. Recent measurements of Ir, Pt, and Au abundances from such rocks in Denmark have shown that the element abundance ratios are different from mantle-derived sources and agree with values for chondritic meteorites within one standard deviation of the measurement errors (7-10%). Rare-earth patterns for these rocks are... 

We have developed an asteroid-impact theory that satisfied these conditions and many others [1]. The theory assumes the... 

Four different ways of calculating the asteroid diameter all give a value of 10 km and this consistency lends confidence to the asteroid-impact theory. The Ir anomaly was first observed by us in Italian rock. Our theory predicted that the unusually abundant Ir should appear all over the world where the C-T boundary is exposed (intact). Part of the hypothesis was confirmed when the anomalously high Ir abundance was found in the C-T boundary layers in Denmark, northern and south-east Spain, and half-way round the world in New Zealand. Another prediction of the theory is that a component of the clay layer at the C-T boundary would be different in composition from other clays in the same section because it contained a component from the impact site. This prediction was confirmed in measurements of the Italian and Danish sections [1]. 

The Ir anomaly has been observed in uplifted marine sediments in four locations in Italy, two in Spain, and one in New Zealand. It has not been found yet in continental sediments or deep-sea cores. If the asteroid-impact theory is valid, the Ir anomaly should be found wherever the C-T boundary is intact. 

If the asteroid-impact theory is correct, the extinctions should be repetitive and the Ir anomaly should be observed in other geological stratigraphic levels corresponding to known extinctions. About five other massive extinctions (besides the one at the end of the Cretaceous Period) have been noted [25]. These come at the end of the Cambrian ( 500 MY ago), the Ordovician (M35 MY age), the Devonian ( 345 MY ago), the Permian ( 230 MY ago) and the Triassic ( 195 MY ago) Periods. 

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