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Science 14 June 1991:
Vol. 252. no. 5012, pp. 1539 - 1542
DOI: 10.1126/science.252.5012.1539
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Articles

40Ar/39Ar Age of Cretaceous-Tertiary Boundary Tektites from Haiti

G. A. IZETT 1, G. B. DALRYMPLE 2, and L. W. SNEE 1

1 U.S. Geological Survey, Mail Stop 913, Denver Federal Center, Denver, CO 80225
2 U.S. Geological Survey, Mail Stop 937, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025

40Ar/39Ar dating of tektites discovered recently in Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) boundary marine sedimentary rocks on Haiti indicates that the K-T boundary and impact event are coeval at 64.5 ± 0.1 million years ago. Sanidine from a bentonite that lies directly above the K-T boundary in continental, coal-bearing, sedimentary rocks of Montana was also dated and has a 40Ar/39Ar age of 64.6 ± 0.2 million years ago, which is indistinguishable statistically from the age of the tektites.

Submitted on February 11, 1991
Accepted on April 30, 1991


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