• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

RealClimate

Climate science from climate scientists...

  • Start here
  • Model-Observation Comparisons
  • Miscellaneous Climate Graphics
  • Surface temperature graphics
You are here: Home / Extras / Glossary / Isotopes

Isotopes

28 Nov 2004 by Gavin

Isotopes can be thought of as different ‘flavours’ of a particular element (such as oxygen or carbon), that are distinguished by the number of neutrons in their nucleus (and hence their atomic mass). Carbon for instance most commonly has a mass of 12 (written as 12C), but there are also a small fraction of carbon atoms with mass 13 and 14 (13C and 14C), similarly oxygen is normally 16O, but with small amounts of 17O and 18O. All of the isotopes of an element behave in similar way chemically. However, because the mass of each isotope is slightly different there are certain physical processes that will discriminate (or ‘fractionate’) between them. For instance, during evaporation of water, it is slightly easier for the lighter isotopes to escape from the liquid, and so water vapour generally has less 18O than the liquid water from which it came. Because of these physical effects, looking at the ratio of one isotope to another can often be very useful in tracing where these atoms came from.

Filed Under: Glossary

About Gavin

Reader Interactions

1 Responses to "Isotopes"

  1. Wil Burns says

    17 Dec 2004 at 12:56 PM

    Extremely helpful addition for my students. Thank you so much!

Primary Sidebar

Search

Search for:

Email Notification

get new posts sent to you automatically (free)
Loading

Recent Posts

  • Unforced variations: Oct 2025
  • “But you said the ice was going to disappear in 10 years!”
  • Time and Tide Gauges wait for no Voortman
  • Lil’ NAS Express
  • DOE CWG Report “Moot”?
  • Climate Scientists response to DOE report

Our Books

Book covers
This list of books since 2005 (in reverse chronological order) that we have been involved in, accompanied by the publisher’s official description, and some comments of independent reviewers of the work.
All Books >>

Recent Comments

  • Geoff Miell on Unforced variations: Oct 2025
  • Mo Yunus on “But you said the ice was going to disappear in 10 years!”
  • Piotr on “But you said the ice was going to disappear in 10 years!”
  • Piotr on “But you said the ice was going to disappear in 10 years!”
  • Piotr on “But you said the ice was going to disappear in 10 years!”
  • Tomáš Kalisz on Unforced variations: Oct 2025
  • Mo Yunus on “But you said the ice was going to disappear in 10 years!”
  • Mal Adapted on “But you said the ice was going to disappear in 10 years!”
  • Tomáš Kalisz on “But you said the ice was going to disappear in 10 years!”
  • nigelj on Unforced variations: Oct 2025
  • Tomáš Kalisz on Unforced variations: Oct 2025
  • Russell Seitz on “But you said the ice was going to disappear in 10 years!”
  • Kevin McKinney on “But you said the ice was going to disappear in 10 years!”
  • Kevin McKinney on Unforced variations: Oct 2025
  • Kevin McKinney on “But you said the ice was going to disappear in 10 years!”
  • MA Rodger on Unforced variations: Oct 2025
  • MA Rodger on Unforced variations: Oct 2025
  • MA Rodger on Unforced variations: Oct 2025
  • Barton Paul Levenson on Unforced variations: Oct 2025
  • Barton Paul Levenson on “But you said the ice was going to disappear in 10 years!”
  • Silvia Leahu-Aluas on Unforced variations: Oct 2025
  • Pete best on “But you said the ice was going to disappear in 10 years!”
  • Susan Anderson on “But you said the ice was going to disappear in 10 years!”
  • Mo Yunus on Unforced variations: Oct 2025
  • Geoff Miell on Unforced variations: Oct 2025
  • Russell Seitz on “But you said the ice was going to disappear in 10 years!”
  • Mo Yunus on “But you said the ice was going to disappear in 10 years!”
  • Mo Yunus on “But you said the ice was going to disappear in 10 years!”
  • Mo Yunus on “But you said the ice was going to disappear in 10 years!”
  • Piotr on Unforced variations: Oct 2025

Footer

ABOUT

  • About
  • Translations
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Page
  • Login

DATA AND GRAPHICS

  • Data Sources
  • Model-Observation Comparisons
  • Surface temperature graphics
  • Miscellaneous Climate Graphics

INDEX

  • Acronym index
  • Index
  • Archives
  • Contributors

Realclimate Stats

1,383 posts

11 pages

247,226 comments

Copyright © 2025 · RealClimate is a commentary site on climate science by working climate scientists for the interested public and journalists.