While radiocarbon is best known as a dating tool, this rare isotope can also provide unique and wide-ranging insights into the cycling of carbon in the Earth system.
isotopes
Posted inResearch Spotlights
To Estimate Plant Water Use, Consider the Xylem
New research shows that chemical isotopes from plant xylem can improve representations of the forest water cycle.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Clumped 18O –18O in Ice Reveals Past Ozone and Wildfire
Reactive gases like ozone are hard to preserve, but clumped isotopes and models provide clues to past ozone and suggest a global increase in wildfire at megafaunal extinction.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Tracing Oxidizing Slab Fluids in Cold Volcanic Arcs
Elevated copper isotope ratios in arc magmas from fluid-rich cold subduction zones support the role of oxidizing fluids from the subducted lithospheric serpentinite in the oxidization of arc magmas.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Extreme Lithium Isotope Fractionations During Intense Weathering
Extreme lithium fractionation is observed when primary minerals in andesite are transformed to secondary clay minerals and then to oxides with intensive chemical weathering in a tropical climate.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
树木年轮显示了最新发现的极端太阳活动事件记录
对树木年轮物质的光谱分析表明，碳-14浓度在一年内急剧上升，这与发生在公元前5410年左右的极端太阳高能粒子事件相一致。
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Tree Rings Show Record of Newly Identified Extreme Solar Activity Event
Mass spectroscopy of tree ring material indicates a sharp, single-year rise in carbon-14 concentrations consistent with an extreme solar energetic particle event that occurred around 5410 BCE.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Marine Isotope Stage 6: First High-Resolution Field Record
A 200-year resolution record from the Black Sea for marine isotope stage 6 (130-180 ka) shows a stable geomagnetic field.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Los océanos liberaron dióxido de carbono durante la última deglaciación
Un nuevo registro de isótopos de boro proveniente de sedimentos marinos del Pacifico Sur, ofrece una imagen más completa del intercambio de dióxido de carbono entre el océano y la atmósfera durante el Pleistoceno tardío.