LISS.398A TECHNOLOGY, ENVIRONMENT and HUMAN ADAPTATION:
PART I EARLY PEOPLES in
the NEW WORLD
CLIMATE CHANGE: OXYGEN ISOTOPE RATIOS
The two major oxygen isotopes O16 (most common) and O18 behave
differentially in the process of evaporation.
Fractionation occurs, i. e. O16 evaporates at a greater
rate than O18. Thus, in periods of ocean depletion and
glacial accumulation, water remaining in the oceans is
relatively richer in O18 and water in glacial ice is
relative richer in O16. These differences leave a record
of temperature change and glacial accumulation that can be
recovered in
polar ice cores
and
ocean bed cores.
Colorado School of Mines
Division of Liberal Arts and International Studies
Dr. Joseph D. Sneed
jsneed@mines.edu
