Modeling Cretaceous‐Tertiary boundary events with extant photosynthetic plankton: effects of impact‐related acid rain

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Abstract
An acid rain phenomenon has previously been proposed as one of the consequences of a bolide impact contributing to the extinctions at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary. This hypothesis has been tested by observing the growth responses of four organisms under simulated acid rain conditions. Two of these phytoplankton. Ditylum (a diatom) and Thoracosphaera (a dinoflagellate), are genera that persisted through the boundary, while the other two, Coccolithus (a coccolithophorid) and Gonyaulax (a dinoflagellate), are post-boundary genera. Ditylum and Coccolithus survive the acid rain simulation, but with the loss of scales in Coccolithus. The two dinoflagellates are sensitive to acid rain simulations, with Gonyaulax unable to survive beyond seven days. The results indicate that acid rain may have contributed to the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary extinctions, but that the changes resulting from the acid rain were not as severe as postulated or were short-lived and quickly dissipated.

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