Biosphere isotope domains (Great Britain)

The biosphere isotope domains (Great Britain) data comprises analysis and location-specific information for strontium, oxygen and sulphur isotopic variation for Great Britain.

The dataset consists of three components:

• Excel data containing sample information (strontium, oxygen (groundwater), oxygen (tooth enamel) and sulphur)
• GIS dataset showing the distribution of four domains across Britain (strontium, oxygen (groundwater), oxygen (tooth enamel) and sulphur )
• an accompanying web portal for viewing and interrogating the GIS data

This dataset brings together:

• the oxygen isotope groundwater map published by Darling et al. (2003)
• an update to the strontium isotope biosphere map published by Evans et al. (2010)
• a new sulphur dataset for plants in England and Wales
• the oxygen isotope composition of human tooth enamel based on Evans et al. (2012)

These four layers can be interrogated to produce a distribution map of the different isotope compositions that can be found across Britain. Specifically it contains:

• Biosphere strontium (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr): strontium isotope variation derived from over 900 strontium samples, predominantly from plants and water
• Oxygen δ¹⁸O PO₄ ‰(VSMOW) (human enamel): oxygen isotope variations in tooth enamel given as the mean and 1SD of ‘local’ populations
• Oxygen δ¹⁸O drinking water ‰ (VSMOW): oxygen isotope variations in groundwater across Great Britain
• Sulphur δ³⁴S ‰ (VCDT) plants: sulphur isotope variation for a number of key geological units (chalk, Jurassic clay and oolitic limestone) as well as a coastal effects (sea spray) zone

This resource is aimed at archaeologists using skeletal analysis to study the geographic origins, movements and diet of past people and populations. The data can also be used in modern studies of bird and fish migration, tracking sources of illegal importation of materials and authentication of food origins.