Investigation of K-Pg Boundary Sand Bodies At Moscow Landing Alabama, Via U-Pb Geochronology: Implications for End-Cretaceous Paleodrainage and the Chicxulub Impact

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dc.contributorTobin, Thomas
dc.contributorWielicki, Michelle
dc.contributorSavrda, Charles
dc.contributor.advisorWielicki, Matthew
dc.contributor.authorCulp, Ryan Patrick
dc.contributor.otherUniversity of Alabama Tuscaloosa
dc.date.accessioned2022-02-04T20:16:39Z
dc.date.available2022-02-04T20:16:39Z
dc.date.issued2021
dc.descriptionElectronic Thesis or Dissertationen_US
dc.description.abstractMoscow Landing is a well-known Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) boundary site located in eastern Sumter County Alabama USA and serves as a natural laboratory to study the end-Cretaceous mass extinction given its proximity to the Chicxulub impact. Unique, discontinuous, sand bodies, commonly known as the Clayton sands, mark the contact between Cretaceous and Paleogene rocks. Megawaves generated by the Chicxulub impact and incised valley filling have been cited as the possible mechanisms behind Clayton sand deposition. To further investigate the source of the sediment in the Clayton sands, a multidisciplinary approach is used that involves microscopy (SEM analysis), geochemistry (trace element and major oxides), and detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology. This work represents the first wherein U-Pb geochronological tools have been applied to a K-Pg site in Alabama. Zircon ages reveal an Appalachian-derived sediment signature, with four grains of ~550 Ma possibly indicating a Chicxulub impact-derived source (i.e. Pan-African in age). Shock features within the zircons were not observed, possibly indicating that the ejecta blanket at Moscow Landing was erased or diluted by the subsequent megawave surge as previous research suggests. In addition, the detrital zircon data presented corroborate previous studies in suggesting that the ancestral Mississippi River system was draining large portions of North America at the end-Cretaceous into the Gulf of Mexico as it does today.en_US
dc.format.mediumelectronic
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.otherhttp://purl.lib.ua.edu/181729
dc.identifier.otheru0015_0000001_0004019
dc.identifier.otherCulp_alatus_0004M_14680
dc.identifier.urihttp://ir.ua.edu/handle/123456789/8294
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.publisherUniversity of Alabama Libraries
dc.relation.hasversionborn digital
dc.relation.ispartofSupplementary materials include Excel spreadheets with Moscow landing XRF and U-Pb data and a zipped folder containing Moscow landing SEM data.
dc.relation.ispartofThe University of Alabama Electronic Theses and Dissertations
dc.relation.ispartofThe University of Alabama Libraries Digital Collections
dc.rightsAll rights reserved by the author unless otherwise indicated.en_US
dc.subjectChicxulub impact
dc.subjectCretaceous
dc.subjectK-Pg
dc.subjectpaleodrainage
dc.subjectU-Pb geochronology
dc.subjectzircon
dc.titleInvestigation of K-Pg Boundary Sand Bodies At Moscow Landing Alabama, Via U-Pb Geochronology: Implications for End-Cretaceous Paleodrainage and the Chicxulub Impacten_US
dc.typethesis
dc.typetext
etdms.degree.departmentUniversity of Alabama. Department of Geological Sciences
etdms.degree.disciplineGeochemistry
etdms.degree.grantorThe University of Alabama
etdms.degree.levelmaster's
etdms.degree.nameM.S.
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