Isotope analysis
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Isotope analysis is the identification of
Tissues affected
.While teeth are more resistant to chemical and physical changes over time, both are subject to post-depositional
Applications
Isotope analysis has widespread applicability in the
Archaeology
Reconstructing ancient diets
Archaeological materials, such as bone, organic residues, hair, or sea shells, can serve as substrates for isotopic analysis. Carbon, nitrogen and zinc isotope ratios are used to investigate the diets of past people; these isotopic systems can be used with others, such as strontium or oxygen, to answer questions about population movements and cultural interactions, such as trade.[1]
Carbon isotopes are analysed in archaeology to determine the source of carbon at the base of the foodchain. Examining the
Carbon isotope ratios can be measured in bone
Nitrogen isotopes can be used to infer soil conditions, with enriched
To obtain an accurate picture of palaeodiets, it is important to understand processes of diagenesis that may affect the original isotopic signal. It is also important for the researcher to know the variations of isotopes within individuals, between individuals, and over time.[1]
Sourcing archaeological materials
Isotope analysis has been particularly useful in archaeology as a means of characterization. Characterization of artifacts involves determining the isotopic composition of possible source materials such as metal ore bodies and comparing these data to the isotopic composition of analyzed artifacts. A wide range of archaeological materials such as metals, glass and lead-based pigments have been sourced using isotopic characterization.[8] Particularly in the Bronze Age Mediterranean, lead isotope analysis has been a useful tool for determining the sources of metals and an important indicator of trade patterns. Interpretation of lead isotope data is, however, often contentious and faces numerous instrumental and methodological challenges.[9] Problems such as the mixing and re-using of metals from different sources, limited reliable data and contamination of samples can be difficult problems in interpretation.
Ecology
All biologically active elements exist in a number of different isotopic forms, of which two or more are stable. For example, most carbon is present as 12C, with approximately 1% being 13C. The ratio of the two isotopes may be altered by biological and geophysical processes, and these differences can be utilized in a number of ways by ecologists. The main elements used in isotope ecology are carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen and sulfur, but also include silicon, iron, and strontium.[10]
Stable isotope analysis in aquatic ecosystems
- δX = [(Rsample / Rstandard) – 1] × 103
where X represents the isotope of interest (e.g., 13C) and R represents the ratio of the isotope of interest and its natural form (e.g., 13C/12C).
Hydrogen-2
The ratio of 2H, also known as
Carbon-13
Sulfur-34
While there is no enrichment of 34S between trophic levels, the stable isotope can be useful in distinguishing
Nitrogen-15
In addition to trophic positioning of organisms, δ15N values have become commonly used in distinguishing between land derived and natural sources of nutrients. As water travels from septic tanks to aquifers, the nitrogen rich water is delivered into coastal areas. Waste-water nitrate has higher concentrations of 15N than the nitrate that is found in natural soils in near shore zones.
Oxygen-18
Analysis of the ratio of 18O to 16O in the
Forensic science
A recent development in forensic science is the isotopic analysis of hair strands. Hair has a recognisable growth rate of 9-11mm[25] per month or 15 cm per year.[26] Human hair growth is primarily a function of diet, especially drinking water intake.[citation needed] The stable isotopic ratios of drinking water are a function of location, and the geology that the water percolates through. 87Sr, 88Sr and oxygen isotope variations are different all over the world. These differences in isotopic ratio are then biologically 'set' in our hair as it grows and it has therefore become possible to identify recent geographic histories by the analysis of hair strands. For example, it could be possible to identify whether a terrorist suspect had recently been to a particular location from hair analysis. This hair analysis is a non-invasive method which is becoming very popular in cases that DNA or other traditional means are bringing no answers.[citation needed]
Isotope analysis can be used by forensic investigators to determine whether two or more samples of explosives are of a common origin. Most
Stable isotopic analysis has also been used in the identification of drug trafficking routes. Isotopic abundances are different in morphine grown from poppies in south-east Asia versus poppies grown in south-west Asia. The same is applied to cocaine that is derived from Bolivia and that from Colombia.[27]
Traceability
Stable isotopic analysis has also been used for tracing the geographical origin of food,[28] timber,[29] and in tracing the sources and fates of nitrates in the environment.[30][31]
Geology
Hydrology
In isotope hydrology, stable isotopes of water (2H and 18O) are used to estimate the source, age, and flow paths of water flowing through ecosystems. The main effects that change the stable isotope composition of water are evaporation and condensation.[32] Variability in water isotopes is used to study sources of water to streams and rivers, evaporation rates, groundwater recharge, and other hydrological processes.[33][34][35]
Paleoclimatology
The ratio of 18O to 16O in ice and deep sea cores is temperature dependent, and can be used as a proxy measure for reconstructing climate change. During colder periods of the Earth's history (glacials) such as during the ice ages, 16O is preferentially evaporated from the colder oceans, leaving the slightly heavier and more sluggish 18O behind. Organisms such as foraminifera which combine oxygen dissolved in the surrounding water with carbon and calcium to build their shells therefore incorporate the temperature-dependent 18O to 16O ratio. When these organisms die, they settle out on the sea bed, preserving a long and invaluable record of global climate change through much of the Quaternary.[36] Similarly, ice cores on land are enriched in the heavier 18O relative to 16O during warmer climatic phases (interglacials) as more energy is available for the evaporation of the heavier 18O isotope. The oxygen isotope record preserved in the ice cores is therefore a "mirror" of the record contained in ocean sediments.[37]
References
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- ^ Black, S. (2008). Crime Scene Analysis. Reading University.[page needed]
- ^ White, P. (2004). Crime Scene to Court: The Essentials of Forensic Science (2nd ed.). Royal Society of Chemistry.[page needed]
- ^ Ehleringer, J.R.; Casale, J.; Cooper, D.A.; Lott, M.J. (2001). Sourcing Drugs With Stable Isotopes (Thesis). Office of National Drug Control Policy.
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- ^ Gabriel Bowen. "WaterIsotopes.org provides information, data, and resources for scientific applications involving spatial variation in the isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen". Waterisotopes.org. Retrieved 2019-03-17.
- ^ Gabriel Bowen. "Welcome". Spatio-temporal Isotope Analytics Lab (Spatial). Retrieved 2019-03-17.
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External links
- MixSIAR. MixSIAR is an R package that helps you create and run Bayesian mixing models to analyze biotracer data (i.e. stable isotopes, fatty acids), following the MixSIAR model framework. Both graphical user interface (GUI) and script versions are available. Stock, B.C., Jackson, A.L., Ward, E.J., Parnell, A.C., Phillips, D.L., Semmens, B.X. Associated peer-reviewed research paper.
- IsoSource. Stable isotope mixing model for an excess number of sources (Visual Basic), (Phillips and Gregg, 2003).
- Moore, Jonathan W; Semmens, Brice X (2008). "Incorporating uncertainty and prior information into stable isotope mixing models". Ecology Letters. 11 (5): 470–80. PMID 18294213.
- SIAR - Stable isotope analysis in R.. Bayesian mixing model package for the R environment. Parnell, A., Inger, R., Bearhop, S., Jackson, A.
- SISUS: Stable Isotope Sourcing using Sampling. Stable Isotope Sourcing using Sampling (SISUS) (Erhardt, Wolf, and Bedrick, In Prep.) provides a more efficient algorithm to provide solutions to the same problem as the Phillips and Gregg (2003) IsoSource model and software for source partitioning using stable isotopes.
- Hopkins, John B; Ferguson, Jake M (2012). "Estimating the Diets of Animals Using Stable Isotopes and a Comprehensive Bayesian Mixing Model". PLOS ONE. 7 (1): e28478. PMID 22235246.