Isoscapes: Spatial Pattern in Isotopic Biogeochemistry
Abstract
Isotope ratios of actively cycled elements vary as a function of the biogeochemical processes in which they participate and the conditions under which those processes occur. The resultant spatiotemporal distribution of isotopes in environmental materials can be predicted using models of isotope-fractionating processes and data describing environmental conditions across space and time, and it has been termed an isoscape, or isotopic landscape. Analysis of isoscapes and comparison of isoscape predictions with observational data have been used to test biogeochemical models, calculate aerially integrated biogeochemical fluxes based on isotope mass balance, and determine spatial connectivity in biogeochemical, ecological, and anthropological systems. Isoscape models of varying quality are available for stable H, C, N, and O isotopes in a range of Earth surface systems, but significant opportunities exist to refine our understanding of biogeochemical cycles and our ability to predict isoscapes through the development of more mechanistic and more comprehensive isoscape models.
Date of this Version
2010
DOI
10.1146/annurev-earth-040809-152429
Repository Citation
Bowen, Gabriel J., "Isoscapes: Spatial Pattern in Isotopic Biogeochemistry" (2010). Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Faculty Publications. Paper 29.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev-earth-040809-152429
Volume
38
Pages
161-187
Link Out to Full Text
http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-earth-040809-152429