
A seismically induced onshore surge deposit at the KPg boundary, North Dakota - mlochbaum
https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2019/03/27/1817407116
======
mlochbaum
This is the first full scientific paper on Tanis, an unprecedented site which
preserves hundreds of fish corpses in exceptional condition along with
extremely strong indicators that they were killed on the day of the Chixculub
impact (most obviously, tektites or glass beads associated with the impact
found in their gills). Co-authors include Walter Alvarez and Jan Smit, likely
the two leading experts on the K-T event.

The paper and supplement are extremely narrow and are intended to show only
that the site was created in a seiche triggered by seismic activity from the
impact, and that the preserved animals there died in the event. It leaves very
little reason to doubt this conclusion. However the site contains many
specimens not included in the paper: previous conference abstracts indicate
dinosaur tracks
([https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2016AM/webprogram/Paper284267.htm...](https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2016AM/webprogram/Paper284267.html))
and the burrow of a mammal which was made after the event but filled before
the prevalent pollen had a chance to settle
([https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2017AM/webprogram/Paper305627.htm...](https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2017AM/webprogram/Paper305627.html)).

Even the topics discussed in the paper are truly remarkable and there are many
firsts such as impact structures formed by tektites raining from the sky. A
New Yorker article published on Friday (in apparent violation of the PNAS
embargo, although it's not clear to me whether they were subject to it) tosses
out mind-blowing details rapid-fire for pages on end. Press articles:

[https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/04/08/the-day-the-
di...](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/04/08/the-day-the-dinosaurs-
died)

[https://news.berkeley.edu/2019/03/29/66-million-year-old-
dea...](https://news.berkeley.edu/2019/03/29/66-million-year-old-deathbed-
linked-to-dinosaur-killing-meteor)

[https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2019/03/fossils-f...](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2019/03/fossils-
found-from-day-dinosaurs-died-chicxulub-tanis-cretaceous-extinction)

[https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/04/astonishment-
skeptic...](https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/04/astonishment-skepticism-
greet-fossils-claimed-record-dinosaur-killing-asteroid-impact)

