The acquisition of a specialised stable-isotope mass spectrometer dedicated to â¬Sclumpedâ¬ý isotopes, will permit five institutions to engage in a revolutionary advance in determining past environmental and geological temperatures. â¬SClumped isotopesâ¬ý are the rare isotopes (eg the 13C-18O bond within carbonate minerals) whose distribution has recently been shown to be temperature dependent but independent of bulk oxygen-isotope composition. Accordingly, it is practical to measure the past temperatures of the Earthâ¬"s oceans through much of geological time and to estimate the temperatures of past soil forming processes and air temperatures and to constrain evaporative processes in open hydrological systems.
The acquisition of a specialised stable-isotope mass spectrometer dedicated to â¬Sclumpedâ¬ý isotopes, will permit five institutions to engage in a revolutionary advance in determining past environmental and geological temperatures. â¬SClumped isotopesâ¬ý are the rare isotopes (eg the 13C-18O bond within carbonate minerals) whose distribution has recently been shown to be temperature dependent but independent of bulk oxygen-isotope composition. Accordingly, it is practical to measure the past temperatures of the Earthâ¬"s oceans through much of geological time and to estimate the temperatures of past soil forming processes and air temperatures and to constrain evaporative processes in open hydrological systems.
