K-pg Boundary Beloc Haiti Chicxulub Tsunami Microslide

K-pg boundary ejecta layer tsunami microtektites from Beloc, Haiti. This microslide contains "extinction rock" microtektite spherule material from the Chicxulub asteroid impact event, which ended the age of the non-avian dinosaurs an other life. Evidence supports the impact origin of the K-pg boundary glass from the Gulf of Mexico.

Millimeters-size clay spherules are found at the base of the K-pg clastic beds in several worldwide locations. The spherules are usually rounded but many display elongated dumbbell or tear drop shapes very similar to splash form tektites or microtektites.

Glass fragments have been found preserved within the cores of the clay spherules at Beloc, Haiti. The glass particles range in size from 0.1 to 5 mm and can be classified based on their color into black and yellow types. The black type is roughly andesitic in composition and yellow glass with a more unusual composition and contains of up to 28 wt% CaO.

In contrast to the 2 to 3 cm thick clay layer found worldwide, the K-pg boundary in the Gulf of Mexico region and in Haiti is composed of much thicker coarse clastic deposits. Sand beds indicative of high energy deposition at the K-pg boundary at Brazos River, Texas, have been interpreted to be the result of a major disturbance of the depositional environment, such as a tsunami approximately 50 to 100 meters high. At Beloc, Haiti, the K-pg boundary is interpreted as an ejecta layer probably deposited and reworked on a submarine slope. In Northeastern Mexico the K-pg boundary is formed by as much as three meters of coarse clastic layers in stark contrast with the deep water fine marls deposited above and below it.

The K-pg layers consist of a basal unit containing impact ejecta (shocked quartz and spherules), with an overlaying of coarse laminated sandstone derived from coastal areas, and topped by ripples of fine sand and Iridium-rich silts. This succession containing impact markers at its base and at its top is interpreted as being rapidly deposited - within a few days - by a series of tsunami waves caused by the nearby Chicxulub impact.

Microslide Size: 75mm L X 25mm W X 4mm D, Microslide well size: 12mm Diameter. Ships with information and Certificate of Authenticity. Plastic display stand included, photo cube is not. Only 2 left!

Note: The glass spherules are relatively easy to see. There is enough material to fill up the microslide well. The material is loose and not encased in leucite.

Obtained in a scientific trade with a major scientific institution.