A lack of written sources is a serious obstacle in the reconstruction of the medieval trade of art and art materials, and in the identification of artists, workshop locations, and trade routes. We use the isotopes of sulfur, oxygen, and strontium (S, O, Sr) present in gypsum alabaster to unambiguously link ancient European source quarries and areas to alabaster artworks produced over five centu...

We analyzed the tissue carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur stable isotope contents of macrofaunal communities associated with vestimentiferan tubeworms and bathymodiolin mussels from the Gulf of Mexico lower continental slope (970-2800 m). Shrimp in the genus Alvinocaris associated with vestimentiferans from shallow (530 m) and deep (1400-2800 m) sites were used to test the hypothesis that seep animal...

Pyrite (FeS2) is a major iron- and sulfur-containing mineral phase in the environment. Oxidation of pyrite by aerobic micro-organisms has been well investigated. However, the reactivity of pyrite under anoxic conditions is still an open question. In the present paper, we summarize field and laboratory data on this chemolithotrophic respiration process with nitrate as terminal electron acceptor....

In PNAS, Wing and Halevy (1) present a new model that quantitatively describes the magnitude of sulfur isotope fractionation produced by dissimilatory microbial sulfate reduction (MSR). MSR is a major player in the global biogeochemical cycles and is responsible for the respiration of up to 30% of organic matter in marine sediments (2). This metabolism produces large isotope effects, in which t...

The Paleoproterozoic (2.5-1.6 Ga) Era is a decisive time in Earth and life history. The paleobiological record (microfossils, stromatolites, biomarkers and isotopes) illustrates the biosphere evolution during a time of transitional oceanic and atmosphere chemistries. Benthic microfossil assemblages are recorded in a variety of oxygenated, sulfidic, and ferruginous environments representative of...

Methods of contrast variation are tools that are essential in macromolecular structure research. Anomalous dispersion of X-ray diffraction is widely used in protein crystallography. Recent attempts to extend this method to native resonant labels like sulfur and phosphorus are promising. Substitution of hydrogen isotopes is central to biological applications of neutron scattering. Proton spin po...

Sulfur and oxygen isotopes were employed to identify SO42- sources in surface water and groundwater in the Babu subterranean river basin (BSRB). Our study revealed SO42- enrichment in the BSRB waters compared with adjacent areas. The SO42- in some samples originated mainly from precipitation; in others, it was derived mainly from sulfide dissolution in coal seams or from gypsum dissolution. In ...