Study links extreme geomagnetic instability to end-Guadalupian extinction

A National Science Review paper reports a 3.75-million-year magnetostratigraphic record from the Fengshan section in South China spanning the Guadalupian-Lopingian transition. It shows 29 magnetozones and a reversal rate of 11 per million years, one of the highest known, coinciding with the end-Guadalupian extinction around 261 million years ago. Causation remains unproven.

• Fengshan section in South China covers 3.75 million years of the Permian
• Record shows 29 magnetozones and 11 reversals per million years
• Peak instability aligns with the extinction around 261 million years ago
• Authors suggest cosmic-ray flux and ozone loss as possible mechanisms