The Case For Substantial Dust Extinction At z ~ 3

Estimates of the total metal production rate (\dot{\rho}_Z) and star formation rate at z > 2 are based on Lyman break systems observed in the rest-frame ultraviolet (UV). These observations are very sensitive to dust obscuration. Here I elucidate and refine the Meurer et al. (1997) method for calculating UV obscuration, presenting new relationships which accurately model the dust reprocessing of radiation in local starbursts. The median lambda = 1600 Angstroms obscuration factor is ~10 at z ~ 3 which is shown to be consistent with other constraints on the high-z \dot{\rho}_Z. Two tests are proposed to further constrain \dot{\rho}_Z at these redshifts.