dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaRaining lead around 250mya : a smoking gun for an Australian impact origin of the Permian Extinction
| Authors | J. C. Standard, C. A. Angell |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | physics/0311111 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0311111 |
Abstract
Recent documentation of extreme atmospheric sulfur and methane contents at the time of the vast Permo-Triassic (P-T) extinction makes it possible to interpret an observation that has lain unnoticed in the geological literature for 40 years. This is the finding of microscopic metallic lead tear drops in the fluvial strata of the early Triassic sandstones that overlie Permian coal beds and other sedimentary deposits in the Sydney basin of Australia. Elemental lead is almost unknown in nature, so its occurrence in these graphite-loaded sandstones is a provocative finding. While climate change and vulcanism could explain the carbon and sulfur anomalies, the only way to account for metallic lead aerodynamic droplets is by massive impact and vaporization of lead mineral-containing formations. Since lead occurs geologically as the sulfide and since lead is an easily reduced element, its occurrence in conjunction with sulfur and carbon count anomalies suggests a bolide impact on carbon-loaded strata in a sulfide mineral-rich region. From these clues, and from stream cross-bedding data, we identify a probable site for the impact, in Bass Strait between Tasmania and Victoria. A gravitational anomaly, similar to that known at the site of the Cretacious-Tertiary (C-T) impact site, conforms with a central uplift. The sudden compression at an Australian impact site would provoke tension fissuring on the opposite side of a shell- structured planet, hence is consistent with the unprecedented flood basalts initiated in Siberia at the P-T boundary. Our interpretation requires that lead microspheres and graphite occur together elsewhere, possibly in Antarctic sandstones.
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"abstract": "Recent documentation of extreme atmospheric sulfur and methane contents at\nthe time of the vast Permo-Triassic (P-T) extinction makes it possible to\ninterpret an observation that has lain unnoticed in the geological literature\nfor 40 years. This is the finding of microscopic metallic lead tear drops in\nthe fluvial strata of the early Triassic sandstones that overlie Permian coal\nbeds and other sedimentary deposits in the Sydney basin of Australia. Elemental\nlead is almost unknown in nature, so its occurrence in these graphite-loaded\nsandstones is a provocative finding. While climate change and vulcanism could\nexplain the carbon and sulfur anomalies, the only way to account for metallic\nlead aerodynamic droplets is by massive impact and vaporization of lead\nmineral-containing formations. Since lead occurs geologically as the sulfide\nand since lead is an easily reduced element, its occurrence in conjunction with\nsulfur and carbon count anomalies suggests a bolide impact on carbon-loaded\nstrata in a sulfide mineral-rich region. From these clues, and from stream\ncross-bedding data, we identify a probable site for the impact, in Bass Strait\nbetween Tasmania and Victoria. A gravitational anomaly, similar to that known\nat the site of the Cretacious-Tertiary (C-T) impact site, conforms with a\ncentral uplift. The sudden compression at an Australian impact site would\nprovoke tension fissuring on the opposite side of a shell- structured planet,\nhence is consistent with the unprecedented flood basalts initiated in Siberia\nat the P-T boundary. Our interpretation requires that lead microspheres and\ngraphite occur together elsewhere, possibly in Antarctic sandstones.",
"arxiv_id": "physics/0311111",
"authors": [
"J. C. Standard",
"C. A. Angell"
],
"categories": [
"physics.geo-ph"
],
"title": "Raining lead around 250mya : a smoking gun for an Australian impact origin of the Permian Extinction",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0311111"
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