Stable carbon isotope analysis of fossil tooth enamel carbonate, and oxygen isotope analysis of bone or enamel phosphate, are established tools for palaeodietary and palaeoclimatic reconstruction, respectively. C/C ratios provide evidence of an animal’s diet and phosphate-based O/O values are used to establish palaeotemperature proxies. Recent studies of fossil enamel suggest that biogenic O/O ...

The avian embryo resorbs most of the calcium for bone formation from the calcite eggshell but the exact mechanisms of the resorption are unknown. The present study tested whether this process results in variable fractionation of the oxygen and carbon isotopes in shell calcium carbonate, which could provide a detailed insight into the temporal and spatial use of the eggshell by the developing em...

Water and gas samples were collected from (1) nine shallow groundwater aquifers overlying Marcellus Shale in north-central West Virginia before active shale gas drilling, (2) wells producing gas from Upper Devonian sands and Middle Devonian Marcellus Shale in southwestern Pennsylvania, (3) coal-mine water discharges in southwestern Pennsylvania, and (4) streams in southwestern Pennsylvania and ...

Swiss needle cast (SNC) is a fungal disease of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) that has recently become prevalent in coastal areas of the Pacific Northwest. We used growth measurements and stable isotopes of carbon and oxygen in tree-rings of Douglas-fir and a non-susceptible reference species (western hemlock, Tsuga heterophylla) to evaluate their use as proxies for variation in past SNC i...

The stable isotope ratios of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen have been measured for a German oak in wood samples of roughly three years each, for the years 1712-1954 A.D., and correlated with the existing weather records from England, Basel, and Geneva to evaluate the empirical temperature coefficients. Isotope ratios in a second official oak, measured for the years 1530-1800 A.D., show the cold t...

Swiss needle cast (SNC) is a fungal disease of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) that has recently become prevalent in coastal areas of the Pacific Northwest. We used growth measurements and stable isotopes of carbon and oxygen in tree-rings of Douglas-fir and a non-susceptible reference species (western hemlock, Tsuga heterophylla) to evaluate their use as proxies for variation in past SNC i...

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis reveals the diets of different human populations in history. In this study, we performed stable isotope analysis on human skeletons from Joseon-period cemeteries discovered around Old Seoul City (Hansung). Our data clearly showed that Joseon individuals consumed more C3-based than C4-based foods as the main staples, and that the proteins they ate were...

The study of stable isotopes in fossil bioapatite has yielded useful results and has shown that bioapatites are able to faithfully record paleo-environmental and paleo-climatic parameters from archeological to geological timescales. In an effort to establish new proxies for the study of bioapatites, intra-tooth records of enamel carbonate stable isotope ratios from a modern horse are compared w...

This article reviews the results of bone collagen stable carbon and nitrogen isotope paleodietary studies conducted in Australia. Stable isotopic analyses of prehistoric human and faunal bones and teeth provide a means to assess past Aboriginal dietary patterns and habitat use, palaeoclimate, and palaeoecology. In some cases, the relative consumption of marine versus terrestrial foods or use of...