Stable isotopic compositions

The global atmospheric circulation acts as an enormous filtration system, which depletes high-latitude precipitation of heavy isotope-bearing water molecules. Because of this system, measurements of the stable isotopic composition of the ice sheets and of ocean-floor sediments reveal very important paleo-environmental information (see Sections 18.2.2,18.3.2, and 18.3.3). Here we examine this filtration system at a physical level. This system was first understood by a great Danish geochemist named Willi Dansgaard (Dansgaard, 1964). 

This paper explores how models may be developed to account for the relationship between the stable isotope composition of a body tissue of an organism and its diet. The main approach taken is to express this relationship as an explicit equation, or a DIFF , and then to show how the values of such a DIFF can be evaluated from published experimental data. These values can be expected to have a much wider meaning than a simple encapsulation of a particular experimental design. As a main example, we show how the values may be used to constract a metabolic model in which the synthesis of non-essential amino acid for collagen construction can be treated. A second example is to show how the evaluation, in terms of diet, of the spacing between collagen and carbonate 6 C may be put on a rigorous basis. 

Kqjima, S. and Sugaki, A. (1989) Stable isotope compositions of some vein minerals from the Oe mine, southwestern Hokkaido, Japan. J. Mineralogists Petrologists Econ. Geol, 84, 362-313. 

Ceding, T.E. (1984) The stable isotopic composition of modem soil carbonate and its relationship to climate. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 71, 229-240. 

Groning M, Frolich K, De Regge PP, Danesi PR (1999) Intended use of the IAEA reference materials. Part II Examples on reference materials for stable isotope composition. In Fajgelj A, Parkany M, eds. The Use of Matrix Reference Materials in Environmental Analytical Processes, pp 81-92. Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge. 

Figure 14.12 Trends through time in the bulk stable isotope values of collagen (6I3C and 815N), apatite ( 13C) and compound specific 813C values of cholesterol recorded from a number of individuals from the Illinois River Valley, USA, showing contiguous fluctuations in carbon stable isotope composition consistent with differing contributions of maize to the diet (Jim, Ambrose and Evershed unpublished data)...

Howland, M. R. (2003) Compound specific stable isotope investigations of the influence of diet on the stable isotope composition of body tissues. PhD thesis, University of Bristol. 

Fig. 25.4. Oxygen and carbon stable isotopic compositions of calcite ( ) and dolomite ( ) cements from Lyons sandstone (Levandowski et al., 1973), and isotopic trends (bold arrows) predicted for dolomite cements produced by the mixing reaction shown in Figure 25.3, assuming differing CO2 fugacities (25, 50, and 100) for the Fountain brine. Fine arrows, for comparison, show isotopic trends predicted in calculations which assume (improperly) that fluid and minerals maintain isotopic equilibrium over the course of the simulation. Figure after Lee and Bethke (1996).

Conly, A.G., Lee, P.F, Goold, A., Godwin, A. 2008b. Geochemistry and stable isotope composition of Hogarth and Caland pit lakes, Steep Rock Iron Mine, Northwestern Ontario, Canada. Mine Water and the Environment Proceedings, 10, 555-558. 

Darling, W.G., Bath, A.H. and Talbot, J.C. (2003). The O and H stable isotopic composition of fresh waters in the British Isles 2, surface and groundwaters. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 7 183-195. 

Here, the main theory of so-called gas phase IRMS, which is directed toward determination of variations in stable isotope compositions of elements (e.g., C, H, N, O, S, Cl) by analyzing the gases (i. e., C02, H2, N2,02, S02, etc.) are reviewed. Lichtfouse and Budzinski [621] have presented a brief description of the techniques and an account of their applications in organic geochemistry. Although the most demanding applications of IRMS involve determinations of... 

Gas chromatography/combustion/isotope ratio mass spectrometry (CSIA) was used to determine the stable isotope composition of amino acid enantiomers by nitrogen isotope analysis [660]. 

Kaufmaim RS (1989) Equilibrium exchange models for chlorine stable isotope fractionation in high temperature environments. In Proc 6 Int S>mp Water-Rock Interaction. Miles DL (ed) p 365-368 Kaufmann RS, Frape SK, Fritz P, Bentley H (1987) Chlorine stable isotope composition of Canadian Shield brines. In Saline Water and Gases in Crystalline Rocks, Fritz P, Frq)e SK (eds) Geological Association of Canada Special Paper 33 89-93... 

Although the scope of this book does not allow an appropriate treatment of stable isotope compositions of earth s materials (excellent monographs on this subject can be found in the literature—e.g., Hoefs, 1980 Faure, 1986), we must nevertheless introduce the significance of the various compositional parameters adopted in the literature before presenting the principles behind stable isotope geothermometry. 

Because the modifications affecting the stable isotope compositions of natural materials are rather limited (and mainly attributable to the processes discussed in sections 11.6.1 to 11.6.3), they are usually expressed in terms of A per-mil variations ... 

Table 11.8 Comparison among the various parameters adopted to define the stable isotope compositions of natural materials (after Hoefs, 1980).

Fig. 5. Stable isotope composition of fluids that formed the Au and Cu-Au mineralization in the HMC mine. Comparative data is from the Giant and Colomac deposits (Shelton et at. 2004).

Despite the close association of intnisions with many ore deposits, there is still debate about the extent to which magmas contribute water and metals to ore-forming fluids. Many early studies of the stable isotope composition of hydrothermal minerals indicated a dominance of meteoric water (Taylor 1974), more recent studies show that magmatic fluids are commonly present, but that their isotopic compositions may be masked or erased during later events such as the influx of meteoric waters (Rye 1993 Hedenquist and Lowenstem 1994). 

One of the most sensitive tracers recording the composition of ancient sea water is the isotopic composition of chemical sediments precipitated from sea water. The following discussion concentrates on the stable isotope composition of oxygen, carbon, and sulfur, but in recent years other isotope systems have been included such as Ca (De La Rocha and De Paolo 2000 Schmitt et al. 2003 Fantle and de Paolo 2005 Farkas et al. 2007) and B (Lemarchand et al. 2000, 2002 Joachimski et al. 2005) and Li (Hoefs and Sywall 1997). One of the fundamental questions in all these approaches is which kind of sample provides the necessary information, in the sense that it represents the ocean water composition at its time of formation and has not been modified subsequently by diagenetic reactions. 

Baker J, Matthews A (1995) The stable isotopic composition of a metamorphic complex, Naxos, Greece. Cont Mineral Petrol 120 391 03... 

Gat JR (1984) The stable isotope composition of Dead Sea waters. Earth Planet Sci Lett 71 361-376... 

Hesterberg R, Siegenthaler U (1991) Production and stable isotopic composition of CO2 in a soil near Bern, Switzerland. TeUus 43 197-205... 

Hoefs J (1970) Kohlenstoff-und Sauerstoff-Isotopenuntersuchungen an Karbonatkonkretionen und umgebendem Gestein. Contrib Miner Petrol 27 66-79 Hoefs J (1992) The stable isotope composition of sedimentary iron oxides with special reference to Banded Iron Formations. In Isotopic signatures and sedimentary records. Lecture Notes in Earth Sci 43 199-213, Springer Verlag, Berlin... 

Klochko K, Kaufman AJ, Yao W, Byrne RH, Tossell JA (2006) Experimental measurement of boron isotope fractionation in seawater. Earth Planet Sci Lett 248 276-285 Kloppmann Girard NSgrel P (2002) Exotic stable isotope composition of saline waters and brines from the crystalline basement. Chem Geol 184 49-70 Knauth LP (1988) Origin and mixing history of brines, Palo Duro Basin, Texas, USA, Applied Geochemistry 3 455 74... 

Geochim Cosmochim Acta 60 4811 829 Kohn MJ (1999) Why most dry rocks should cool wet . Am Miner 84 570-580 Kohn MJ, Ceding TE (2002) Stable isotope compositions of biological apatite. Rev Miner Geochem 48 455 88... 

---