Sanna Alwmark
Associate senior lecturer
An Early Jurassic age for the Puchezh-Katunki impact structure (Russia) based on 40Ar/39Ar data and palynology
Author
Summary, in English
The Puchezh-Katunki impact structure, 40–80 km in diameter, located ~400 km northeast of Moscow (Russia), has a poorly constrained age between ~164 and 203 Ma (most commonly quoted as 167 ± 3 Ma). Due to its relatively large size, the Puchezh-Katunki structure has been a prime candidate for discussions on the link between hypervelocity impacts and extinction events. Here, we present new 40Ar/39Ar data from step-heating analysis of five impact melt rock samples that allow us to significantly improve the age range for the formation of the Puchezh-Katunki impact structure to 192–196 Ma. Our results also show that there is not necessarily a simple relationship between the observed petrographic features of an impact melt rock sample and the obtained 40Ar/39Ar age spectra and inverse isochrons. Furthermore, a new palynological investigation of the postimpact crater lake sediments supports an age significantly older than quoted in the literature, i.e., in the interval late Sinemurian to early Pliensbachian, in accordance with the new radioisotopic age estimate presented here. The new age range of the structure is currently the most reliable age estimate of the Puchezh-Katunki impact event.
Department/s
- Lithosphere and Biosphere Science
Publishing year
2019-05-29
Language
English
Pages
1764-1780
Publication/Series
Meteoritics and Planetary Science
Volume
54
Issue
8
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
Topic
- Geology
Status
Published
Project
- Geochronology of impact structures - constraining syn- and post-impact processes using the 40Ar/39Ar and U-Pb techniques
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 1086-9379