Just like how we can infer the UV index on a public beach by counting the empty bottles of sunblock in the trash, we can do the same with the largest mass extinction of all time. By analyzing levels of UV-B absorbing compounds in 250 million year old fossilized pollen, researchers have uncovered a link between intense solar radiation, ozone layer depletion, and volcanic outgassing during the End Permian Mass Extinction.

Source material: Feng Liu et al. Dying in the Sun: Direct evidence for elevated UV-B radiation at the end-Permian mass extinction. Science Advances, 2023 https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abo6102

This episode is sponsored by Earthjustice, because the Earth needs a good lawyer. To learn more, visit http://bit.ly/3IKDmsf

[Earthjustice Partner, science, research, biodiversity]