Annual growth rings in trees tell us more than climate history; they can also document the rise and fall of human industrial activities.
Isotopic composition and chemistry
Posted inEditors' Highlights
New Isotope Model Predicts Denitrification from Riparian Zones
A new model quantifies the relative contributions of denitrification and other processes of nitrogen uptake, such as by plants, from groundwater in riparian areas around streams.
Posted inNews
Extinct Megatoothed Shark May Have Been Warm-Blooded
Preliminary results from a recent study may begin to shed light on why megalodons died out before the most recent ice age.
Posted inNews
Fresh Take on a Gold Treasure’s Origins Using Geochemistry
Blending geoscience and archaeology, researchers apply a new technique to pinpoint where ancient and unique gold artifacts were crafted.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Prairies, Potholes, and Public Policy
Studying the Prairie-Pothole Region of North America could help improve water resource management across the continent.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
One of World’s Oldest Animals Records Ocean Climate Change
Researchers probe millennia-old deep-ocean sponges for links between ocean nutrients and climate.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Searching for Organic Carbon in the Dry Valleys of Antarctica
Researchers identify the first evidence of microbial respiration in desiccated Antarctic permafrost soils.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
New Technique Could Help Scientists Track Nitrous Oxide Sources
A long-term study in Switzerland reveals the promise of a new method to determine isotopic composition of the potent greenhouse gas.
Posted inEditors' Vox
Tracing Water Through the Critical Zone
The authors of a recent paper in Reviews of Geophysics describe how isotope hydrology offers new insights into interactions at the interface between soil, vegetation, and the atmosphere.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
High Arctic Emissions of a Strong Greenhouse Gas
Isotope data bring scientists one step closer to revealing the microbial processes behind nitrous oxide emission in the tundra.