Palynological and Iridium Anomalies at Cretaceous-Tertiary Boundary, South-Central Saskatchewan

The Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary in south-central Saskatchewan is marked by coincident anomalies in abundance of iridium and fern spores at the extinction level of a suite of Cretaceous pollen taxa. Evidence of disruption of the terrestrial flora includes the fern-spore abundance anomaly and local e...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 1986-02, Vol.231 (4739), p.714-717
Main Authors: Nichols, D. J., Jarzen, D. M., Orth, C. J., Oliver, P. Q.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Angiosperms, Fossil
Claystones
Climate
Coal
Ferns
Flora
Flowers & plants
Fossil angiosperms
Fossils
Iridium
Paleontology
Palynology
Pollen
Species extinction
Spores
Spores (Botany), Fossil
Taxa
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Summary:The Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary in south-central Saskatchewan is marked by coincident anomalies in abundance of iridium and fern spores at the extinction level of a suite of Cretaceous pollen taxa. Evidence of disruption of the terrestrial flora includes the fern-spore abundance anomaly and local extinction of as much as 30 percent of angiosperm species. The reorganized earliest Tertiary flora is made up largely of surviving species that assumed new roles of dominance. Persistence of climatically sensitive taxa across the boundary indicates that if paleoclimate was altered by the terminal Cretaceous event, it returned quickly to the pre-event condition.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.231.4739.714