Age of Eocene/Oligocene boundary based on extrapolation from North American microtektite layer

Journal Article · Thu Apr 01 00:00:00 EST 1982 · Am. Assoc. Pet. Geol., Bull.; (United States)

OSTI ID:5520754

Glass, B P; Crosbie, J R

Microtektites believed to belong to the North American tektite strewn field have been found in upper Eocene sediments in cores from nine Deep Sea Drilling Project sites in the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, equatorial Pacific, and eastern equatorial Indian Ocean. The microtektite layer has an age of 34.2 +- 0.6 m.y. based on fission-track dating of the microtektites and K-Ar and fission-track dating of the North American tektites. Extrapolation from the microtektite layer to the overlying Eocene/Oligocene boundary indicates an age of 32.3 +- 0.9 m.y. for the Eocene/Oligocene boundary as defined at each site in the Initial Reports of the Deep Sea Drilling Project. This age is approximately 5 m.y. younger than the age of 37.5 m.y. that is generally assigned to the boundary based on recently published Cenozoic time scales. 3 figures, 5 tables.

• Research Organization: Univ. of Delaware, Newark
• OSTI ID: 5520754
• Journal Information: Am. Assoc. Pet. Geol., Bull.; (United States), Vol. 66:4
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
58 GEOSCIENCES
CARIBBEAN SEA
STRATIGRAPHY
GULF OF MEXICO
INDIAN OCEAN
PACIFIC OCEAN
SEDIMENTS
ISOTOPE DATING
BOUNDARY LAYERS
DRILL CORES
PETROLEUM DEPOSITS
TEKTITES
TERTIARY PERIOD
AGE ESTIMATION
ATLANTIC OCEAN
CENOZOIC ERA
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GEOLOGY
LAYERS
MINERAL RESOURCES
RESOURCES
SEAS
SURFACE WATERS
020200* - Petroleum- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration
580100 - Geology & Hydrology- (-1989)