Leg 165 drilling will address two major themes: the nature of the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary and the
influence of tropical seas on global ocean history and climate evolution. Drilling at five primary sites
will provide a unique opportunity to examine nearly 90 m.y. of Earth history, including (1) the K/T boundary
impact event, mechanisms of ejecta dispersal, and environmental consequences from aerosols and fallout
of ejecta; (2) catastrophic extinction events and biotic recovery; (3) the nature of climate forcing
in the pre-Neogene world and tests of climate models with boundary conditions very different from those
of today; (4) several episodes of moderate to extreme climatic warmth (early Late Cretaceous, early Eocene,
early to mid Pliocene); (5) the evolution of tropical sea surface temperatures and changes in meridional
temperature gradients; (6) changes in oceanic circulation and in sources of deep and intermediate water
masses through Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic time; (7) the closing of low latitude oceanic gateways,
the opening of a major gateway within the Caribbean, and the oceanic and climatic consequences of low
latitude tectonics during the late Neogene; (8) tropical climate variability during the late Quaternary;
and (9) nature and origin of Caribbean crust.
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