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Iridium in sediments containing large abundances of Australasian microtektites from DSDP hole 758B in the Eastern Indian Ocean and from DSDP hole 769A in the Sulu SeaExcess Ir found in sediments at the Cretaceous/Tertiary (K/T) boundary and in other (e.g., Pliocene) sediments from deep sea drilling cores is widely interpreted as evidence of major impact events. The Australasian tektites originated in an impact event approximately 0.77 Ma ago; microtektites have been found in deep-sea sediment cores from throughout the Indian Ocean, the Philippine Sea, and western Pacific Ocean, but Ir has not been previously reported in these horizons. The deep-sea record of tektites is of particular interest, because in contrast to most continental occurrences, the stratigraphy preserves the original depositional position. Recently several cores having exceptionally high contents of Australasian microtektites have been investigated, Glass and Wu found shocked quartz associated with the microtektites. We used neutron activation to determine concentrations of Ir and other elements in two cores bearing microtektites, one from Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) hole 758B in the Eastern Indian Ocean and one from DSDP hole 769A in the Sulu Sea (near Mindanao, Philippines). The sedimentation age for the microtektite layers in core 758B lies between 0.73 - 0.78 Ma and agrees well with the mean laser-fusion Ar-40/Ar-39 age of Australasian tektites of 0.77 +/- 0.02 Ma by Izett et al. We are able to resolve a small positive Ir enhancement in 758B. Core 769A shows too much scatter to allow resolution of an Ir peak.
Document ID
19940016268
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Schmidt, Gerhard
(California Univ. Los Angeles, CA, United States)
Zhou, Lei
(California Univ. Los Angeles, CA, United States)
Wasson, John T.
(California Univ. Los Angeles, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
September 6, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1993
Publication Information
Publication: Lunar and Planetary Inst., Twenty-Fourth Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. Part 3: N-Z
Subject Category
Astrophysics
Accession Number
94N20741
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NSF EAR-91-19065
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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