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Refined Ordovician timescale reveals no link between asteroid breakup and biodiversification

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  • A. Lindskog

    (Lund University)

  • M. M. Costa

    (Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen
    Centre for Star and Planet Formation, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 5–7)

  • C.M.Ø. Rasmussen

    (Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen
    Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, University of Copenhagen)

  • J. N. Connelly

    (Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen
    Centre for Star and Planet Formation, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 5–7)

  • M. E. Eriksson

    (Lund University)

Abstract

The catastrophic disruption of the L chondrite parent body in the asteroid belt c. 470 Ma initiated a prolonged meteorite bombardment of Earth that started in the Ordovician and continues today. Abundant L chondrite meteorites in Middle Ordovician strata have been interpreted to be the consequence of the asteroid breakup event. Here we report a zircon U-Pb date of 467.50±0.28 Ma from a distinct bed within the meteorite-bearing interval of southern Sweden that, combined with published cosmic-ray exposure ages of co-occurring meteoritic material, provides a precise age for the L chondrite breakup at 468.0±0.3 Ma. The new zircon date requires significant revision of the Ordovician timescale that has implications for the understanding of the astrogeobiologic development during this period. It has been suggested that the Middle Ordovician meteorite bombardment played a crucial role in the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event, but this study shows that the two phenomena were unrelated.

Suggested Citation

  • A. Lindskog & M. M. Costa & C.M.Ø. Rasmussen & J. N. Connelly & M. E. Eriksson, 2017. "Refined Ordovician timescale reveals no link between asteroid breakup and biodiversification," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 8(1), pages 1-8, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:8:y:2017:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms14066
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms14066
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