Paper Nuevo: Azufre

Nuevo paper publicado en Rapid Communications in Mass Spectremotry que trata sobre la variación espacial de los valores de isótopos estables del carbono, el nitrógeno y el azufre en pelo de humanos.  El paper presenta la variabilidad isotópica en ciertas ciudades del centro de EEUU y presenta la variación geográfica del azufre como punto importante de los resultados y la discusión.  El paper también presenta un superficie de predicción de los valores de δ³⁴S (isoscape).  La construcción del isoscape de azufre en este caso es una interpolación y no un modelo determinístico (como el caso de los isoscapes de H y O previamente publicados).

Abstract

We present data on the carbon (δ¹³C), nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) and sulfur (δ³⁴S) isotope ratios of human hair collected in the central portions of the USA.  These elements are incorporated into hair from the diet and thus provide a record of dietary inputs that may also document geospatial patterns.  We detected regional differences in hair δ³⁴S values across the USA, with the lowest values in the northern Great Plains and increasing values towards the east, west and south.  In contrast, no statistically significant patterns were detected in the spatial variation of human hair δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values.  Using δ³⁴S values and a Geographic Information System approach, we created a map (“sulfur isoscape”).  The accuracy of the map was tested using hair samples not included in its generation.  We conclude that sulfur isotope analysis may represent a new tool to investigate the movements and/or region-of-origin of humans

Valenzuela LO, Chesson LA, O’Grady SP, Cerling TE, Ehleringer JR. 2011. Spatial distributions of carbon, nitrogen and sulfur isotope ratios in human hair across the central United States. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, 25(7):861-868. doi: 10.1002/rcm.4934