Late Maastrichtian age of spherule deposits in northeastern Mexico: implication for Chicxulub scenario

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Abstract
In the La Sierrita area of Nuevo Leon, Mexico, three spherule layers are present and separated from the overlying siliciclastic deposits by up to 6 m of pelagic marls. The marls are of latest Maastrichtian age (Plummerita hantkeninoides (CF1) Zone, Micula prinsii Zone) and deposited under normal pelagic conditions with no significant evidence of reworking or slumping. Original deposition of the spherule layers occurred during the last 300 ka of the Maastrichtian and well prior to the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K–T) boundary event. Thus, if the spherules in northeastern Mexico provide critical evidence of an impact at Chicxulub, this impact predates the K–T boundary.