Knowra Stable isotope analysis Stable isotope analysis Stable isotope analysis measures the relative abundances of nonradioactive isotopes in a material. Isotopic patterns can reveal sources, transformations, and movement through environmental, biological, and geological systems.
Isotope ratio mass spectrometry : A mass spectrometric method that measures ratios of isotopes in a sample. It is a principal technique for measuring stable isotope ratios precisely.
Stable isotope ecology : The use of stable isotope patterns to study ecological relationships, resource use, and animal movement. Food-web isotope patterns can reveal what organisms eat and where they forage.
Isotope : One of two or more atoms of the same element with different numbers of neutrons. Stable isotope analysis compares variants of the same element.
Radiogenic isotope analysis : The use of isotope ratios produced by radioactive decay to investigate geological time and material history. Unlike stable isotope analysis, it often depends on radioactive parent-daughter systems.
Isotope-ratio notation : A convention for expressing isotope ratios as deviations from an international reference standard, usually in parts per thousand. It provides the common scale for reporting and comparing isotope measurements.
Isotope analysis in archaeology : The study of archaeological materials using isotope ratios to investigate diet, mobility, provenance, and past environments. Human and animal remains preserve clues to diet and geographic origin.
Stable isotope : An isotope that does not undergo radioactive decay on observable timescales. These nonradioactive forms are the measured tracers in this analysis.
Radiocarbon dating : A dating method that estimates the age of once-living material from its remaining carbon-14. It uses a radioactive isotope to determine age, rather than stable ratios alone.
Isotopic fractionation : A change in isotope ratios caused by physical, chemical, or biological processes. Fractionation creates many of the patterns that analyses use to infer processes.
Paleoclimatology : The study of past climates using records preserved in natural archives. Isotope ratios in ice, sediments, and fossils help reconstruct ancient climate conditions.
Show all 21