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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
earth and planetary sciences
Platinum-groups elements in the Morokweng impact structure, South Africa: Evidence for the impact of a large ordinary chondrite projectile at the Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Volume 65, No. 2, Year 2001
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Description
Radiometric dating of melt rocks at impact craters has revealed that some giant impacts appear to overlap in time with major boundaries in Earth history [e.g., the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K/T) and Jurassic-Cretaceous (J/K) boundaries]. The Morokweng impact crater in South Africa is coincident in age with the J/K boundary. However, the types of objects that generate large craters are poorly known because it is difficult to unambiguously identify the projectile from the signature it imparts into the impact rocks. Meteorites are highly enriched in the platinum-group elements (PGE) which have been widely used as a tool for identifying the presence of a meteorite signature. Here we present new PGE analyses from the Morokweng impact melt. sheet. Our data reveal high PGE concentrations and high degree of PGE correlation through the melt sheet. Regression analysis was used to determine the projectile PGE signature and constrain input from the terrestrial target rocks. The closest match to Morokweng is the PGE signature of ordinary (L or LL) chondrite meteorites, which is broadly in agreement with the results of an earlier Cr isotope study. The results of these independent studies provide strong evidence that a large, ordinary chondrite projectile struck the area of Morokweng in the late Jurassic. Copyright © 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd.
Authors & Co-Authors
Mcdonald, Iain
United Kingdom, London
University of Greenwich
Andreoli, Marco A.G.
South Africa, Johannesburg
University of the Witwatersrand
South Africa, Pretoria
Necsa
Hart, Rodger J.
South Africa, Johannesburg
University of the Witwatersrand
Tredoux, Marian
South Africa, Cape Town
University of Cape Town
Statistics
Citations: 96
Authors: 4
Affiliations: 4
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1016/S0016-7037(00)00527-5
ISSN:
00167037
Study Approach
Quantitative
Study Locations
South Africa