No / We examined multiple natural abundance isotope ratios of human
hair to assess biological variability within and between geographic
locations and, further, to determine how well these isotope values
predict location of origin. Sampling locations feature differing
seasonality and mobile populations as a robust test of the
method. Serially-sampled hair from Cambridge, MA, USA, shows
lower δ2 H and δ18 O variability over a one-year time course than
model-predicted precipitation isotope ratios, but exhibits
considerable differences between individuals. Along a ∼13° northsouth transect in the eastern USA (Brookline, MA, 42.3 ° N, College
Park, MD, 39.0 ° N, and Gainesville, FL, 29.7 ° N) δ18 O in human
hair shows relatively greater differences and tracks changes in
drinking water isotope ratios more sensitively than δ2 H.
Determining the domicile of humans using isotope ratios of hair
can be confounded by differing variability in hair δ18 O and δ2 H
between locations, differential incorporation of H and O into this
protein and, in some cases, by tap water δ18 O and δ2 H that differ
significantly from predicted precipitation values. With these
caveats, randomly chosen people in Florida are separated from
those in the two more northerly sites on the basis of the natural
abundance isotopes of carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, and oxygen. / This work was partially supported by the National Geospatial Agency under grant [HM1582-08-0024]. / Originally presented at the IAEA International Symposium on Isotope Hydrology: Revisiting Foundations and Exploring
Frontiers, 11–15 May 2015, Vienna, Austria
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BRADFORD/oai:bradscholars.brad.ac.uk:10454/17631 |
| Date | 30 January 2020 |
| Creators | Reynard, L.M., Burt, N., Koon, Hannah E.C., Tuross, N. |
| Source Sets | Bradford Scholars |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Article, No full-text in the repository |
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