Glass from the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary in Haiti

Tektite-like glasses preserved at the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary at Beloc in Haiti provide clear evidence of an impact event. The glass composition suggests that the impact occurred on a continental shelf region, generating a silica-rich glass with chemical composition that reflects the melting of continental crustal rocks, and a calcium-rich glass produced by the fusion of marl sediments. These findings indicate that catastrophic release to the atmosphere of 10¹⁵ moles of C0₂ from vaporized marl occurred during the impact.