About the research project

QUEST-UV will attempt to reconstruct changes in UV-B radiation at the Earth’s surface through the chemical analysis of fossil-pollen grains. We will experiment with different extraction techniques to isolate UV-B absorbing compounds in modern pollen grains and then use this understanding to provide the first quantitative reconstruction of UV-B radiation based on sediments representing up to the last 10,000 years. We will also use greenhouse and field experiments to quantitatively determine the response of Pinus sylvestris pollen to different wavelengths of light.

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