Stable isotopes have become an indispensable tool for understanding natural and anthropogenically-influenced systems. Large databases of spatially explicit isotopic data, emerging monitoring networks, and new data analysis tools are now presenting new opportunities to exploit spatiotemporal isotopic variability as a source of information on the connectivity, variability, and sensitivity to change of climatalogical, hydrological, and biogeochemical processes. Isoscapes 2011 offered an interdisciplinary venue for presentation and discussion of recent research involving the analysis of spatiotemporal isotope patterns ("isoscapes") and the technology supporting this work.
Isoscapes 2011 was a follow-up to the very successful 2008 Isoscapes meeting, and was held at Purdue University's Discovery Park on Sept. 26-27, 2011. Partial support was provided by the IsoMAP group, an NSF-supported team that is developing web-based spatial analysis tools for isoscape modeling and analysis, which sponsored 15 early career (graduate and postdoctoral) participants. In addition to an excellent slate of invited and contributed talks and poster presentations, the meeting featured training and and working sessions focused on the IsoMAP webGIS tools and other cyberinfrastructure of relevance to the community.
Sea surface water oxygen isoscape. From Bowen (2010), after LeGrande and Schmidt (2006).
IsoMAP is a dynamic, online workspace for spatial analysis, modeling and prediction of stable isotope ratio variation in the natural environment. The initial realease of the IsoMAP gateway is now live and supports precipitation isotope ratio modeling and geographic assignment using H and O isotopes. Visit IsoMAP to learn more or to start making isoscapes today!
