Materials to accompany Olsen et al. Science article.
 
 
In the Triassic and Early Jurassic, the continents were united in the supercontent of Pangea. Also at this time, Pangea itself was astride the equator. As Africa and North America began to pull part a huge series of rifts formed.

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Image by P. Olsen

 The Newark basin (red circle, above) was one of these basins, which itself was part of the series of rifts, the exposed eastern North American contingent of which are collectively termed the Newark Supergroup. It lay at about 9 degrees north latitude during this time.

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Image by P. Olsen

 
A, Pangea during the Late Triassic showing the position of the rift zone (gray), the Newark Supergroup basins (black), and the Newark basin (1). B, Major basins of the Newark Supergroup.

Image by P. Olsen

 
Rift basins of the Newark Supergroup of Eastern North America.

Ir anomaly and most of the paleontological evidence is from the Newark basin, but important fossil material also comes from the other three labed basins, show in Olsen et al. (science paper) figure 1.

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Image by P. Olsen

 
 
 

Key to Individual Rift Basins

1. Crowburg basin, South Carolina
2. Wadesboro basin, South Carolina - North Carolina
3. Ellerbe basin, North Carolina
4. Sanford basin, North Carolina
5. Durham basin, North Carolina
6. Davie County basin, North Carolina
7. Dan River-Danville basin, North Carolina - Virginia
8. Scottsburg basin, Virginia
9. Randolph basin, Virginia
10. Roanoke Creek basin, Virginia
11. Briery Creek basin, Virginia
12. Farmville basin, Virginia
13. Richmond basin, Virginia
14. Flat Branch basin, Virginia
15. Deep Run basin, Virginia
16. Taylorsville basin, Virginia
17. Scottsville basin, Virginia
18. Barboursville basin, Virginia
19. Culpeper basin, Virginia - Maryland
20. Gettysburg basin, Maryland, Pennsylvania
21. The narrow neck of the Newark - Gettysburg basin, Pennsylvania
22. Newark basin, Pennsylvania - New Jersey - New York
23. Pomperaug basin, Connecticut
24. Cherry Brook outlier, Connecticut
25. Hartford basin, Connecticut - Massachusetts
26. Deerfield basin, Massachusetts
27. Northfield basin, Massachusetts
28. Middieton basin, Massachusetts
29. Fundy basin, New Brunswick - Nova Scotia
30. Chedabucto Bay, Nova Scotia
Newark Supergroup of Eastern North America.
From  Froelich, A. J. and Olsen, P. E., 1985, Newark
Supergroup, a revision of the Newark Group in eastern
North America: U.S. U.S. Geological Survey Circular
946, p. 1-3.  (pubic domain).

 
 
Detailed geological map of the Newark basin showing the position of the Jacksonwald sections where the Ir anomaly was discovered.

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Image by P. Olsen

 
 
 
Triassic-Jurassic boundary in the Jacksonwald syncline. Boundary (dark line) is at inset, shown in detail on right. Rocks shown are red and gray mudstones on right and gray mudstones and sandstones on left. Hill is capped by Orange Mountain. Basalt. 

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Photo by P. Olsen

 Detail of Triassic-Jurassic boundary at Jacksonwald  Abbreviations are: J, Jurassic strata; fs, "fern spike" and Ir anomaly; Tr, Triassic strata. 

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Photo by P. Olsen

 
 
Typical Earliest Jurassic assemblage (above boundary) dominated by the conifer pollen form Corollina (all but direct center, which is another type of conifer pollen grain).

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Photo by Sarah Fowell
Typical fern spore from the fern spike at the Triassic-Jurassic boundary.

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Photo by Sarah Fowell

 
Typical Late Triassic pollen assemblage (below boundary).

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Photo by Sarah Fowell

 
Diagnostic Triassic pollen grains (Patinasporites densus) from below Triassic-Jurassic boundary.

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Photo by Sarah Fowell

 
 
Largest Late Triassic theropod track fromthe Culpeper basin, Virgina. Scale on right applies here as well. (Tracks discovered by Robert Weems, USGS). Photo by P. Olsen.

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 Example of earliest Jurassic theropod track Eubrontes giganteus from just above Triassic Jurassic boundary, Newark basin, Clifton, New Jersey. Photo by P. Olsen.

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Example of small theropod track (Grallator parallelum) from near Boyertown, Pennsylvania. Track length about 3 inches.

Photo by P. Olsen

 Type specimen of Eubronted giganteus from Holyoke, Massachusetts (Hartford basin). This was the first dinosaur footrint ever described (1836).

Photo by P. Olsen

 

Candidate Impact
 
 
Manicouagan Crater, Quebec

Natural-color image of the region was acquired by MISR's nadir (vertical-viewing) camera on June 1, 2001, during Terra orbit 7737 (Nasa: http://eosweb.larc.nasa.gov/HPDOCS/misr/misr_html/lake_manicouagan.html)