Aug 3, 2023
250 million-year-old pollen suggests radiation played a role in mass extinction event
A lethal pulse of ultraviolet (UV) radiation may have played a role in the Permian-Triassic mass extinction event, roughly 250 million years, fossilized pollen grains reveal.
Plants rely on photosynthesis to convert sunlight into energy, but they also need a mechanism to block out harmful UV-B radiation.
Dying in the Sun: Direct evidence for elevated UV-B radiation at the end-Permian mass extinction