Dying in the Sun: Direct evidence for elevated UV-B radiation at the end-Permian mass extinction

Liu, Feng; Peng, Huiping; Marshall, John E.A.; Lomax, Barry H.; Bomfleur, Benjamin; Kent, Matthew S.; Fraser, Wesley T.; Jardine, Phillip E.

doi:10.1126/sciadv.abo6102

Dying in the Sun: Direct evidence for elevated UV-B radiation at the end-Permian mass extinction

Liu, Feng; Peng, Huiping; Marshall, John E.A.; Lomax, Barry H.; Bomfleur, Benjamin; Kent, Matthew S.; Fraser, Wesley T.; Jardine, Phillip E.

Authors

Feng Liu

Huiping Peng

John E.A. Marshall

Barry H. Lomax

Benjamin Bomfleur

MATTHEW KENT Matthew.Kent@nottingham.ac.uk
Research Fellow

Wesley T. Fraser

Phillip E. Jardine

Abstract

Land plants can adjust the concentration of protective ultraviolet B (UV-B)-absorbing compounds (UACs) in the outer wall of their reproductive propagules in response to ambient UV-B flux. To infer changes in UV-B radiation flux at Earth's surface during the end-Permian mass extinction, we analyze UAC abundances in ca. 800 pollen grains from an independently dated Permian-Triassic boundary section in Tibet. Our data reveal an excursion in UACs that coincide with a spike in mercury concentration and a negative carbon-isotope excursion in the latest Permian deposits, suggesting a close temporal link between large-scale volcanic eruptions, global carbon and mercury cycle perturbations, and ozone layer disruption. Because enhanced UV-B radiation can exacerbate the environmental deterioration induced by massive magmatism, ozone depletion is considered a compelling ecological driver for the terrestrial mass extinction.

Citation

Liu, F., Peng, H., Marshall, J. E., Lomax, B. H., Bomfleur, B., Kent, M. S., …Jardine, P. E. (2023). Dying in the Sun: Direct evidence for elevated UV-B radiation at the end-Permian mass extinction. Science Advances, 9(1), Article eabo6102. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abo6102

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Dec 7, 2022
Online Publication Date	Jan 6, 2023
Publication Date	Jan 6, 2023
Deposit Date	Jan 9, 2023
Publicly Available Date	Jan 9, 2023
Journal	Science Advances
Electronic ISSN	2375-2548
Publisher	American Association for the Advancement of Science
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	9
Issue	1
Article Number	eabo6102
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abo6102
Public URL	https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/15926160
Publisher URL	https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abo6102