Abstract

Anomalous iridium, arsenic, zinc, antimony and soot in the ejecta layers at cretaceous-paleogene boundary: A mass of submicron fraction in the Chicxulub impact vapor plume

Author(s): Pavle I.Premovia

The fireball plume of the Chicxulub impact event at the Cretaceous- Paleogene boundarywas probablymostly composed of vaporized material emitted into the atmosphere (stratospheric level) by the impact. Most of this vapor was dispersed globally and condensates, creating a thin socalled ejecta layer. Recent thinking proposes that the impact vapor plume contained minimal amounts of submicron-size particles (dust) 1013g - 1014g insufficient to suppress photosynthesis. However, it seems that the global abundances of the impact-derived iridium, arsenic, zinc, anthimony and soot coupled with observations do not support this interpretation.