For shallow ponds to be contenders for the venue of the emergence of life on Earth, they would have had to provide sufficient protection from ultraviolet (UV) radiation to allow for the preservation of organic molecules. Shallow ponds of a variety of compositions are proposed for early Earth, many of which may have provided ample shielding effects by attenuating UV light via absorption by (in)organic ions. Here, we present an experimental setup designed to simulate an irradiated water column to investigate the preservation/degradation of organic molecules and by proxy the attenuation of UV radiation in ponds of diverse compositions. In this setup, we dissolved glycine in ultrapure water, ferrocyanide and carbonate pond simulants and irradiated for several days. Our findings indicate that glycine’s photochemical degradation under UV irradiation is minimal in the carbonate pond, though significant in the ferrocyanide pond and in ultrapure water, where it breaks down into diverse products including formamide, glycinamide, glycinmethylester and acetaldehyde. Though ferrocyanide is a potent UV absorber, our experiments show ferrocyanide ponds to be transiently UV-shielding environments due to the removal of ferrocyanide by UV-induced precipitation of goethite and pyrite mineral assemblages and subsequent photodegradation of glycine in the cleared water column. Our results further suggest that hypersaline, carbonate ponds may present stable environments for prebiotic chemistry while providing ample UV attenuation, ultimately protecting the integrity of organic molecules. This work contributes to understanding the interplay between UV irradiation and (in)organic compounds in ponds and the suitability of those ponds for the onset of prebiotic chemistry on Earth, Mars and other celestial bodies.