From Free net encyclopedia

Isotope analysis is the identification of isotopic signature, the distribution of certain stable isotopes and chemical elements within chemical compounds. This can be applied to a food web to make it possible to draw direct inferences regarding diet, trophic level, and subsistence.

Techniques

Applications

Anthropology

Bone recovered from archaeological sites can be analysed isotopically for information regarding diet and migration. Carbon and nitrogen isotope composition are used to reconstruct diet, and oxygen isotopes are used to determine geographic origin.

To obtain an accurate picture of palaeodiets, it is important to understand processes of diagenesis that may affect the original isotopic signal

Archaeology

Bone recovered from archaeological sites can be analysed isotopically for information regarding diet and migration. Carbon and nitrogen isotope composition are used to reconstruct diet, and oxygen isotopes are used to determine geographic origin.

To obtain an accurate picture of palaeodiets, it is important to understand processes of diagenesis that may affect the original isotopic signal

Ecology

Geology

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Forensics

Hydrology

Paleoclimatology

Photosynthesis

References

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