Search results for "Stable isotope ratio"
showing 10 items of 200 documents
Beyond the grave: variability in Neolithic diets in Southern Germany?
2006
Abstract Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analyses were undertaken on human and faunal remains from two Neolithic sites in Southern Germany; the LBK settlement at Herxheim and the middle Neolithic cemetery at Trebur. Stable isotope data were used to reconstruct the diets of individuals buried at these sites and to look at dietary variation between groups classified by their sex, age, grave goods and cultural affiliation. Overall there was surprisingly little variation in the diet between the groups, as described by the stable isotope analysis, despite significant differences in the composition of grave goods. Also surprising, considering the archaeological evidence for extensive grain cul…
Zooplankton, lipids and stable isotopes: importance of seasonal, latitudinal, and taxonomic differences
2010
We found considerable seasonal, latitudinal, and taxonomic differences in zooplankton lipid content and concur- rent d 13 C values of zooplankton. We collected cladoceran as well as cyclopoid and calanoid copepod zooplankton from boreal and subarctic lakes throughout a year, allowing us to study zooplankton likely subjected to different isotopic fractionation processes and with highly variable lipid contents. Considerable seasonal variation was observed in the differ- ence between bulk and lipid-extracted zooplankton d 13 C values, indicating that seasonally changing lipid content intro- duced notable variation in zooplankton d 13 C values. The difference between bulk and lipid-extracted ma…
Prospects of Ion Chemical Reactions with Heavy Elements in the Gas Phase
2001
Heavy element chemistry is related to the fundamental interest that lies in exploring the upper limits of the periodic table. Chemical properties of the heaviest elements have already been studied at single atoms in aqueous solutions and in the gas phase up to an atomic number Z = 107. These techniques allow to study nuclides with half lives as short as about 1 s. Next generation chemistry experiments could be envisaged with an ion trap technique already developed for stable isotopes. At very low production rates in the order of 1 per 100 s and/or half lives as short as about 10 ms, the ion-molecule reactions can be studied in a buffer gas cell, in which the heavy elements are stopped and t…
A 45-year sub-annual reconstruction of seawater temperature in the Bay of Brest, France, using the shell oxygen isotope composition of the bivalve Gl…
2020
A reconstruction of sea surface temperature (SST) spanning 45 years (1966–2011) was developed from δ18O obtained from the aragonitic shells of Glycymeris glycymeris, collected from the Bay of Brest, France. Bivalve sampling was undertaken monthly between 2014 and 2015 using a dredge. In total, 401 live specimens and 243 articulated paired valves from dead specimens were collected, of which 24 individuals were used to reconstruct SST. Temperatures determined using the palaeotemperature equation of Royer et al. compared well with observed SST during the growing season between 1998 and 2010 (Pearson’s correlation: p = 0.002, r = 0.760). Furthermore, a significant negative correlation was foun…
Early Neolithic diet and animal husbandry: stable isotope evidence from three Linearbandkeramik (LBK) sites in Central Germany
2011
Abstract The first appearance of the Neolithic Linearbandkeramik (LBK) in Central Germany occurred during the 6th millennium BC. However, though LBK sites are abundant in the German loess areas, there are only a few studies that reconstruct the diet of these first farmers using biochemical methods. Here we present the largest study undertaken to date on LBK material using stable isotope analysis of carbon and nitrogen to reconstruct human diet and animal husbandry strategies. We analyzed the bone collagen of 97 human individuals and 45 associated animals from the sites of Derenburg, Halberstadt and Karsdorf in the Middle Elbe–Saale region of Central Germany. Mean adult human values are −19.…
Holocene climate variability in Central Germany and a potential link to the polar North Atlantic: A replicated record from three coeval speleothems
2016
Here, we present high-resolution trace element and stable isotope records from three coeval Holocene stalagmites from the Herbstlabyrinth cave system, Central Germany. All stalagmites were precisely dated using MC-ICPMS 230Th/U-dating. One stalagmite started to grow at 13.62 ± 0.13 ka BP, covering the late Glacial; the other two speleothems started to grow at 11.13 ± 0.08 and 10.26 ± 0.08 ka BP, respectively. The combined record covers the entire Holocene. The interpretation of the different climate proxies is supported by data from a detailed cave monitoring programme. Cold conditions during the Younger Dryas are reflected by intermittent stalagmite growth at the Herbstlabyrinth. The δ18O…
Dental calculus is not equivalent to bone collagen for isotope analysis: a comparison between carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis of bulk den…
2014
Palaeodietary reconstruction using the carbon and nitrogen isotope values of bone and dentine collagen is a well-established method and the biochemical processes involved are well known. Researchers have recently explored using bulk samples of dental calculus as a substitute for bone and dentine collagen in dietary analyses, because calculus can be sampled without causing damage to the teeth, and may be useful in situations where more destructive analyses are not possible, or where collagen is poorly preserved. Several questions remain about the use of bulk calculus as a source of carbon and nitrogen isotope data, however. It is not yet clear how much of an individual¿s life span dental cal…
Interannual variability of Greenland winter precipitation sources: 2. Effects of North Atlantic Oscillation variability on stable isotopes in precipi…
2008
[1] A new Lagrangian moisture source diagnostic is applied to identify the atmospheric conditions relevant for the fractionation of stable water isotopes during evaporation over the ocean and subsequent transport to Greenland. Northern Hemisphere winter months with positive and negative North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index are studied on the basis of ERA-40 reanalysis data. Diagnosed moisture transport conditions are supplied to a Rayleigh-type isotope fractionation model to derive estimates for the isotopic composition of stable isotopes in winter precipitation on the Greenland plateau for the two NAO phases. Because of changes in atmospheric circulation, moisture source locations for pr…
Lagrangian simulations of stable isotopes in water vapor: An evaluation of nonequilibrium fractionation in the Craig-Gordon model
2009
[1] The Craig-Gordon model is the basis for the parameterization of water isotope fractionation during evaporation from the ocean in many atmospheric isotope models. Its exact formulation (e.g., with respect to the nonequilibrium fractionation factor k) is mainly based on theoretical considerations and not very well constrained by observations. This study addresses this issue by combining a recently developed Lagrangian moisture source analysis with a Craig-Gordon fractionation parameterization for the identified evaporation events in order to model isotope ratios in water vapor. This technique is applied to 45 measurement days of isotopes in water vapor at Rehovot (Israel) during the years…
Air parcel trajectory analysis of stable isotopes in water vapor in the eastern Mediterranean
2008
[1] With the help of a Lagrangian moisture source diagnostic, linkages between stable isotope measurements in water vapor in Rehovot (Israel), with typical sampling times of 8 hours, and the meteorological conditions in the evaporation regions are established. These linkages can be formulated in quantitative terms, and are also quantitatively comparable with other data from isotope measurements over the ocean and with simple theoretical calculations. On the one hand, a strong negative correlation (r = −0.82) between relative humidity with respect to sea surface temperature in the source regions and measured deuterium excess (d) is found, corroborating results from isotope global circulation…