Publications by authors named "Sarah Sephton"

Large-volume pāhoehoe lava flows erupted 67 to 65 million years ago, forming the Deccan Traps, India. The impact of these flood basalt eruptions on the global atmosphere and the coeval end-Cretaceous mass extinction has been uncertain. To assess the potential gas release from this volcanism, we measured sulfur and chlorine concentrations in rare glass inclusions inside crystals and on glassy selvages preserved within lavas.

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Article Synopsis
  • Spore chemistry is being studied to create a reliable biochemical proxy for historical harmful UV-B radiation due to a lack of long-term data.
  • UV-B absorbing compounds in spore cells vary with UV-B exposure, and a new rapid detection method combines thermochemolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and micro-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.
  • The study tested spores from Lycopodium cernuum across different altitudes, revealing that spore chemistry responds to UV-B levels, indicating potential for using historical spore samples to track changes in UV-B radiation over long periods.
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