Extinction, dissolution, and possible ocean acidification prior to the Cretaceous/Paleogene (K/Pg) boundary in the tropical Pacific
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2017 Biotic perturbations and changes in ocean circulation during the Maastrichtian stage of the latest Cretaceous raise questions about whether the biosphere was preconditioned for the end-Cretaceous mass extinction of calcareous plankton. A brief acme of inoceramid clams at ~ 71 Ma on Shatsky Rise in the tropical North Pacific was followed by their extinction during the mid-Maastrichtian event at 70.1 Ma associated with an abrupt warming of deep waters. This was later followed by an interval of intense dissolution beginning ~ 67.8 Ma at ODP Site 1209 (2387 m). The late Maastrichtian dissolution interval was initially gradual, and is characterized by a low planktic/benthic (P/B) ratio, highly fragmented planktic foraminifera, mostly an absence of larger taxa, low abundances of smaller taxa, extremely low planktic foraminiferal numbers, and low planktic foraminiferal and nannofossil species richness. A partial recovery in carbonate preservation and calcareous plankton simple diversity began ~ 250 kyr prior to the K/Pg boundary associated with the incursion of a younger (more enriched 13 C) deep water mass, although total abundances of planktic foraminifera in the sediment remained a tiny fraction of their earlier Maastrichtian values. A second, brief dissolution event occurred ~ 200 kyr before the boundary evidenced by renewed increase in planktic fragmentation, but without a decrease in P/B ratio. Our data show that changing deep water masses, coupled with reduced productivity and associated decrease in pelagic carbonate flux was responsible for the first ~ 1.6-Myr dissolution interval, while Deccan Traps volcanism (?) may have caused surface ocean acidification ~ 200 kyr prior to the K/Pg mass extinction event.
