The Cretaceous/Paleogene (K/Pg) mass extinction was the youngest of the five largest known extinction events. Because it occurred only 65 million years ago, records of this event are much more common and generally much less altered than records of the other four great mass extinctions. Consequently, the K/Pg event provides an unparalleled opportunity for documenting how global ecosystems recovered from one of the most biologically devastating catastrophes ever identified. We propose to take advantage of that opportunity by using K/Pg geochemical and paleontologic records to test fundamental hypotheses of marine biological recovery from mass extinctions. In particular, we propose to test (1) whether the geologic record supports the hypothesis that planktic evolution was a necessary precondition for the recovery of organic fluxes to deep water (or vice versa), and (2) whether post-extinction records of marine plankton are consistent with a low-productivity Strangelove-ocean model or an altered-ecosystem normal-productivity model of ecologic recovery from the K/Pg mass extinction.

Agency
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Institute
Division of Earth Sciences (EAR)
Type
Standard Grant (Standard)
Application #
9814790
Program Officer
H. Richard Lane
Project Start
Project End
Budget Start
1999-04-01
Budget End
2004-04-30
Support Year
Fiscal Year
1998
Total Cost
$220,000
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Rhode Island
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
Kingston
State
RI
Country
United States
Zip Code
02881