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Showing results for tags 'microtektites'.
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From the album: Dinosaurs
K-Pg Boundary Microtektites Hell Creek Formation Garfield Co., MT, USA These aren't fossils, but are relevant to the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs, pterosaurs, large marine reptiles, and many other species of flora/fauna at the end of the Cretaceous. When a large meteor/asteroid struck the earth ~ 66 mya, it sent molten ejecta across the world. Some of this molten material, sourced from the impact site, was shaped by its trajectory through the atmosphere and cooled into small, glassy droplets. The black blobs you see are those droplets, called tektites (each typically ~ 1 mm in diameter). The layer which these came from is more famous for its unusually high concentration of iridium (which is more common in meteorites than on Earth). However, in some locations, tektites have been preserved. In this matrix sample, I've also found carbonized plant material (charcoal), which suggests fires that could be associated with the impact event.- 8 comments
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Plio‐Pleistocene microtektites reported from the Upper Tamiami Formation (Pinecrest beds) of Florida.
Oxytropidoceras posted a topic in Fossil News
It appears that people can find Plio‐Pleistocene microtektites associated with and inside closed clams of the Upper Tamiami Formation (Pinecrest beds) of Florida. Maybe enterprising fossil collectors and citizen scientists could look for and find microtektites in other outcrops of Pinecrest beds. The paper is: Meyer, M., Harries, P.J. and Portell, R.W., 2019. A first report of microtektites from the shell beds of southwestern Florida. Meteoritics & Planetary Science. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/maps.13299 Blog post about micrometeorites in your house gutter Can you Really Find Micrometeorites in Your Gutter? Well... Phil Plait, Bad Astronomy. May 16, 2019 https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/can-you-really-find-micrometeorites-in-your-gutter-well Flecks of Extraterrestrial Dust, All Over the Roof The New York Times, By By William J. Broad https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/10/science/space-dust-on-earth.html Genge, M.J., Larsen, J., Van Ginneken, M. and Suttle, M.D., 2017. An urban collection of modern-day large micrometeorites: Evidence for variations in the extraterrestrial dust flux through the Quaternary. Geology, 45(2), pp.119-122. Open access https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/geology/article/45/2/119/195213/an-urban-collection-of-modern-day-large Yours, Paul H.- 4 replies
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