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Isotopes

Isotopes

Elements have a set number of protons that determines their atomic number (Z). For example, all atoms with eight protons are oxygen; however, the number of neutrons can vary for atoms of the same element. The sum of the number of protons and the number of neutrons is the mass number (A). Atoms with the same atomic number but different mass numbers are called isotopes. Elements can have multiple isotopes, for example, carbon-12, carbon-13, and carbon-14.
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Elements: Chemical Symbols and Isotopes

Elements: Chemical Symbols and Isotopes

A chemical symbol is an abbreviation used to indicate an element or an atom of an element. For example, the symbol for mercury is Hg. The same symbol is used to indicate one atom of mercury (microscopic domain) or to label a container of many atoms of the element mercury (macroscopic domain).
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In the early 1900s, English chemist Frederick Soddy realized that an element could have atoms with different masses that were chemically indistinguishable. These different types are called isotopes — atoms of the same element that differ in mass. Isotopes differ in mass because they have different numbers of neutrons but are chemically identical because they have the same number of protons. Soddy was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1921 for this discovery.
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Mass Spectrometry: Isotope Effect

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Most elements exist in nature as a mixture of isotopes. The isotopes differ in weight due to their respective number of neutrons. The molecular weight of a molecule is different depending on the specific isotope of its elements involved. As a result, the mass spectrum of the molecule exhibits peaks from the same fragment at multiple positions. The positions of these mass signals depend on the mass differences between isotopes. Furthermore, the intensity of these signals is dependent on the...

Body Temperature

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The Use of Drip Flow and Rotating Disk Reactors for Staphylococcus aureus Biofilm Analysis

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Clumped Isotope Temperature Reconstruction Using Stalagmite Drip Cups.

Stuart Umbo^1,2, Maria Box¹, Aviva Intveld³

¹School of Geography and Natural Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, UK.

Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry : RCM

|January 20, 2026

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Speleothem drip cups offer a promising method for accurate paleotemperature reconstruction, despite minor kinetic effects. This approach enhances understanding of past climate using clumped isotope thermometry in cave deposits.

Keywords:

carbonates clumped isotopes drip cup isotopic equilibrium palaeoclimate speleothem temperature reconstruction

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Area of Science:

Geochemistry
Paleoclimatology
Isotope Geochemistry

Background:

Clumped isotope thermometry in speleothems is limited by kinetic fractionation during subaerial formation, leading to inaccurate temperature estimates.
Speleothems are valuable terrestrial archives for accurate dating and understanding past climate.
Drip cups in speleothems create subaqueous environments, potentially mitigating kinetic effects.

Purpose of the Study:

To assess the reliability of speleothem drip cups for paleotemperature reconstruction using clumped isotope analysis.
To investigate the influence of kinetic fractionation in subaqueous versus subaerial speleothem environments.
To develop a method for testing kinetic effects in speleothem samples.

Main Methods:

Sampling of isochronous layers across a drip cup in stalagmite MAYA 22-7 (dated to 1650 CE ± 23 years).
Measurement of stable isotopes (δ18O, δ13C) and clumped isotopes (Δ47) at varying distances from the drip cup center.
Comparison of isotopic values between subaqueous drip cup zones and subaerial flanks.

Main Results:

Subaqueous drip cup zones showed lower δ18O and δ13C, and higher Δ47 values, indicating reduced kinetic fractionation.
Clumped isotope temperatures (TΔ47) from subaqueous samples were 1°C-2°C higher than modern cave temperatures.
Inferred paleotemperatures were 3°C-7°C warmer than regional estimates, suggesting persistent kinetic effects.

Conclusions:

Subaqueous drip cup samples provide more accurate paleotemperature inferences than subaerial samples due to closer-to-equilibrium precipitation.
Speleothem drip cups show potential for reliable paleotemperature reconstructions.
A widely applicable test for clumped isotope kinetic effects in speleothem drip cups was described.