Ruthenium/Iridium Ratios in the Cretaceous-tertiary Boundary Clay: Implications for Global Dispersal and Fractionation Within the Ejecta Cloud

Ruthenium (Ru) and iridium (Ir) are the least mobile platinum group elements (PGE's) within the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) boundary clay (BC). The Ru/Ir ratio is, therefore, the most useful PGE interelement ratio for distinguishing terrestrial and extraterrestrial contributions to the BC. The Ru/Ir ratio of marine K-T sections (1.77 +/- 0.53) is statistically different from that of the continental sections (0.93 +/- 0.28). The marine Ru/Ir ratios are chondritic (C1 = 1.48 +/- 0.09), but the continental ratios are not. We discovered an inverse correlation of shocked quartz size (or distance from the impact site) and Ru/Ir ratio. This correlation may arise from the difference in Ru and Ir vaporization temperature and/or fractionation during condensation from the ejecta cloud. Postsedimentary alteration, remobilization, or terrestrial PGE input may be responsible for the Ru/Ir ratio variations within the groups of marine and continental sites studied. The marine ratios could also be attained if approximately 15 percent of the boundary metals were contributed by Deccan Trap emissions. However, volcanic emissions could not have been the principal source of the PGE's in the BC because mantle PGE ratios and abundances are inconsistent with those measured in the clay. The Ru/Ir values for pristine Tertiary mantle xenoliths (2.6 +/- 0.48), picrites (4.1 +/- 1.8), and Deccan Trap basalt (3.42 +/- 1.96) are all statistically distinct from those measured in the K-T BC.