Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Geosciences Newsletter - 2014, Department Of Geosciences

Geological and Environmental Sciences News

Vol. 7, No. 1

• Faculty Updates
• Michigan Geological Survey
• News from MGRRE
• WMU Geosciences Advisory Council
• Meet our Students
• Geology Club
• In Remembrance
• Meet Our New Graduate Students
• CoreKids: our K-12 Outreach Program
• 2014 Geosciences Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient
• Gifts to Geosciences

Are You Getting What You Paid For? A Case Study In Forensic Geochemistry, Abdelmawgoud Mohammed, R. V . Krishnamurthy

Research and Creative Activities Poster Day

Introduction

Isotopes are atoms of the same element that differ in atomic mass due to different number of neutrons in the nucleus. Some isotopes are stable isotopes and others are unstable, or radioactive, isotopes. Stable isotopes maintain constant concentrations in the environment over time. Unstable isotopes continue to decay into daughter elements. Stable isotopes of oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, sulfur, and nitrogen are the most commonly used in environmental and ecological research.

Forensic geochemistry is a relatively new discipline that uses chemical and isotopic markers to solve problems of forensic interest. These include fingerprinting oil spills, food adulteration and forgery in …