Slow sedimentation and Ir Anomalies at the Cretaceous-Tertiary Boundary

Iridium enrichments, at or close to the K/T boundary, are often cited as evidence for impacts of cosmic bodies or volcanic events, or both, that resulted in mass extinctions. A third possible explanation for the high Ir concentrations, that the enrichments were caused by the cosmic micrometeorite flux during times of slow Sediment accumulation, has generally been rejected. In this study we examine the Ir/Au ratios and conclude that they may indicate enrichment of siderophile elements by slow sedimentation. In addition, the concept of slow sedimentation at the K/T boundary is consistent with many aspects of the K/T boundary research such as the gradual decline of the species before the major extinction level and recent reports of faunal transitions from Cretaceous to Tertiary without sudden extinctions, hiatuses or Ir anomalies