From Meals to Molecules: Solving Mysteries with Stable Isotopes

Figuring out where something is from and where it has been are important questions for many different fields of science. Ecologists often study where different animals migrate and how their diet changes over time. Environmental scientists need to determine where pollution is coming from and who should be responsible for cleaning it up. Stable isotopes can provide key insights that help answer the “Where?”, “When?”, “Who?”, and “In what magnitude?” questions that different types of scientists ask.