Abstract
The Mjølnir Crater was formed in the latest Jurassic by a meteorite impact in the moderately deep (300–400 m) palaeo-Barents Sea. Palynological studies of the ejecta-bearing strata of corehole 7430/10-U-01, located 30 km north-east of the Mjølnir Crater, have revealed a high abundance of marine Prasinophyceae algae (mainly Leiosphaeridia) and a minor abundance peak of freshwater algae (juvenile Botryococcus). The highest concentrations of algae occur in the ejecta unit recognised by high iridium concentrations, occurrences of shocked quartz and traces of possible altered glass.
The marine Mjølnir impact probably caused major shock waves and tsunamies, resulting in mixing of water-masses and sudden introduction of nutrients into the water column. Increased concentrations of nutrients (ammonia, nitrates, phosphates, iron) most likely enhanced reproduction of the algae and caused blooms of stocks of prasinophyte phytoplankton. After tsunami withdrawal from the surrounding land areas, freshwater may have flushed the shelf. This would explain the conspicuous concentration of juvenile freshwater algae in the post- impact beds.
Low algal diversity and the total dominance of morphologically uniform leiospheres is typical for eutrophic water conditions where a few species could quickly utilise the newly released nutrients (mainly N and P) in the water-column. Similar algal blooms can also be traced in contemporaneous deposits on Svalbard and in the offshore Troms III area. Thus, the algae bloom can be recognised as a regional marker horizon in the Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary sediments of the western Barents Sea.
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Smelror, M., Dypvik, H., Mørk, A. (2002). Phytoplankton Blooms in the Jurassic- Cretaceous Boundary Beds of the Barents Sea Possibly Induced by the Mjølnir Impact. In: Buffetaut, E., Koeberl, C. (eds) Geological and Biological Effects of Impact Events. Impact Studies. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-59388-8_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-59388-8_4
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