Kyle’s last thesis chapter was just published in Nature Communications! He analyzed the total mercury content (T[Hg]) in fossil shells from around the world, dating to the period leading up to the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary. He found elevated Hg levels in samples dating from within the time period when the Deccan Traps were erupting, with lower “baseline” levels prior to that. This new method of measuring Hg in shell material (as opposed to sediment) eliminates some of the issues of [Hg] dependence on sediment organic carbon content. He was able to quantify that the mercury contamination during the time of Deccan volcanism was significantly higher than modern sites considered to be highly contaminated!