Using impact exsolution to link the Chicxulub collision and Deccan volcanism

TL;DR

This paper proposes the impact exsolution hypothesis, suggesting that large planetary impacts like Chicxulub can trigger volcanism through seismic-induced magma exsolution, supported by geological observations.

Contribution

It introduces a novel mechanism linking impacts and volcanism via seismic-induced magma exsolution, supported by empirical evidence from Chicxulub and Deccan observations.

Findings

Changes in feeder dike orientations post-impact

Alterations in isotope geochemistry after impact

Variations in lava flow dynamics following Chicxulub

Abstract

Observations suggest that impactors and volcanism are connected, but the mechanism that links these events is unknown. This research proposes the impact exsolution hypothesis to explain how planetary scale collisions trigger volcanism. This hypothesis says that when large objects such as asteroids or comets hit planets, they generate seismic waves that cause exsolution in magma, which initiates eruptions. Observations of the Chicxulub impact and Deccan volcanism support this hypothesis. These observations include changes in feeder dike orientations, changes in isotope geochemistry, and changes in lava flow dynamics following the Chicxulub impact.