Frequent and intense fires in the final coals of the Paleozoic indicate elevated atmospheric oxygen levels at the onset of the End-Permian Mass Extinction Event

During the End-Permian mass extinction event (EPME) there is extensive evidence for depletion of oxygen in the marine realm. Atmospheric models based upon biogeochemical cycling predict a comparable decline leading up to this event and have been postulated as a possible driver for marine depletion. However, these models contrast with broadly contemporaneous empirical evidence from charcoal in coals. New charcoal data from the temporally...