Reduced contribution of sulfur to the mass extinction associated with the Chicxulub impact event

The Chicxulub asteroid impact event at the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) boundary ~66 Myr ago is widely considered responsible for the mass extinction event leading to the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs. Short-term cooling due to massive release of climate-active agents is hypothesized to have been crucial, with S-bearing gases originating from the target rock vaporization considered an important driving force. Yet, the magnitude of the S release remains poorly constrained. Here we empirically estimate the amount of impact-released S relying on the concentration of S and its isotopic composition within the impact structure and a set of terrestrial K-Pg boundary ejecta sites. The average value of 67 ± 39 Gt obtained is ~5-fold lower than previous numerical estimates. The lower mass of S-released may indicate a less prominent role for S emission leading to a milder impact winter with key implications for species survival during the first years following the impact.

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Publication Details

Journal
Nature Communications
Published
2025-01-16
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-55145-6
Citations
7
Primary Topic
Astro and Planetary Science
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
8.08

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article

Reduced contribution of sulfur to the mass extinction associated with the Chicxulub impact event

Frank Vanhaecke, Katerina Rodiouchkina, Philippe Claeys, Johan Vellekoop et al.
7 citations
Nature Communications
Astro and Planetary Science
8.08
article

Reduced contribution of sulfur to the mass extinction associated with the Chicxulub impact event

Frank Vanhaecke, Katerina Rodiouchkina, Philippe Claeys, Johan Vellekoop, Pim Kaskes, Ilia Rodushkin, Steven Goderis, Michael E. Böttcher, Özgür Karatekin, Cem Berk Senel
article en
7 citations

Abstract

The Chicxulub asteroid impact event at the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) boundary ~66 Myr ago is widely considered responsible for the mass extinction event leading to the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs. Short-term cooling due to massive release of climate-active agents is hypothesized to have been crucial, with S-bearing gases originating from the target rock vaporization considered an important driving force. Yet, the magnitude of the S release remains poorly constrained. Here we empirically estimate the amount of impact-released S relying on the concentration of S and its isotopic composition within the impact structure and a set of terrestrial K-Pg boundary ejecta sites. The average value of 67 ± 39 Gt obtained is ~5-fold lower than previous numerical estimates. The lower mass of S-released may indicate a less prominent role for S emission leading to a milder impact winter with key implications for species survival during the first years following the impact.

Nature CommunicationsVol. 16(1)
Université Libre de Bruxelles (BE), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (BE), Luleå University of Technology (SE), Royal Observatory of Belgium (BE), Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde (DE), Institute of Natural Sciences (BE), Ghent University (BE), University of Rostock (DE), KU Leuven (BE)
Belgian Federal Science Policy Office, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, Vlaamse regering
Openalex Percentile: Top 3%
Astro and Planetary Science
8.08
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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