• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.262-271
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• 2008

Natural abundances of stable isotopes of nitrogen and carbon (${\delta}^{15}N$ and ${\delta}^{13}C$) are being widely used to study N and C cycle processes in plant and soil systems. Variations in ${\delta}^{15}N$ of the soil and the plant reflect the potentially variable isotope signature of the external N sources and the isotope fractionation during the N cycle process. $N_2$ fixation and N fertilizer supply the nitrogen, whose ${\delta}^{15}N$ is close to 0%o, whereas the compost as. an organic input generally provides the nitrogen enriched in $^{15}N$ compared to the atmospheric $N_2$. The isotope fractionation during the N cycle process decreases the ${\delta}^{15}N$ of the substrate and increases the ${\delta}^{15}N$ of the product. N transformations such as N mineralization, nitrification, denitrification, assimilation, and the $NH_3$ volatilization have a specific isotope fractionation factor (${\alpha}$) for each N process. Variation in the ${\delta}^{13}C$ of plants reflects the photosynthetic type of plant, which affects the isotope fractionation during photosynthesis. The ${\delta}^{13}C$ of C3 plant is significantly lower than, whereas the ${\delta}^{13}C$ of C4 plant is similar to that of the atmospheric $CO_2$. Variation in the isotope fractionation of carbon and nitrogen can be observed under different environmental conditions. The effect of environmental factors on the stomatal conductance and the carboxylation rate affects the carbon isotope fractionation during photosynthesis. Changes in the environmental factors such as temperature and salt concentration affect the nitrogen isotope fractionation during the N cycle processes; however, the mechanism of variation in the nitrogen isotope fractionation has not been studied as much as that in the carbon isotope fractionation. Isotope fractionation factors of carbon and nitrogen could be the integrated factors for interpreting the effects of the environmental factors on plants and soils.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.96-104
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• 2018

Stable isotope approach for aquatic ecology and environmental sciences has been introduced as very useful technique since 1980s and also has been applied to investigate various issues in aquatic ecology and environmental study last 10 years in Korea. Especially carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios have been mainly used to understand food web energy flow and ecosystem structure. In addition, nitrogen isotope ratio has been applied for nitrogen cycle and source identification as well as biomagnification studies. However, large temporal or spatial variations of nitrogen isotope ratio of primary producer have been found in many aquatic environments, and it is regarded as the critical problems to determine trophic level of aquatic animals. Recently, the compound specific isotope analysis of nitrogen within individual amino acids has been developed as an alternative method for trophic ecology. This article introduces the progress history of stable isotope application in aquatic ecology and environmental sciences, and also suggests new direction based on future prospects in stable isotope ecology and environmental study.

• Journal of Environmental Analysis, Health and Toxicology
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.237-242
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• 2018

Strontium (Sr) commonly exists in rock, groundwater, soil, plants, and animals. The Sr isotope ratio offers important information as a tracer on nature because the Sr isotopic composition is not fractionated by any biological process in these ecosystems. Hence, Sr isotope ratio has been used in several studies on tracing the Sr source for contaminated sites and human migration. In this study, we developed a separation method for Sr content, and then improved Sr isotope analysis using multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS). A powdered rock standard (NIST 2710a) was used to determine the removal of interference elements (Rb and Ca) and the recovery rate of Sr content. The results ranged from 98% to 106%. Additionally, three standard samples (NBS 987, IAPSO and NIST 1486) were analyzed to evaluate the precision and accuracy of the results. The measured $^{87}Sr/^{86}Sr$ ratio for all the samples were consistent with the reported values, within an error. These results indicate that our established Sr separation and Sr isotope measurement methods are reliable and can hence be useful in the fields of environmental and forensic sciences.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2017

Nitrate ($NO_3^-$), a common surface water and groundwater pollutant, poses a serious environmental problem in regions with intensive agricultural activities and dense population. It is thus important to identify the source of nitrate contamination to better manage water quality. Due to the distinct isotope compositions of nitrate among different origins, the dual isotope analysis (${\delta}^{15}N$ and ${\delta}^{18}O$) of nitrate has been widely applied to track contamination sources. This paper provided the underlying backgrounds in the isotope analysis of nitrate, which included typical ranges of ${\delta}^{15}N$ and ${\delta}^{18}O$ from various nitrate sources, isotope fractionation, the analytical methods used to concentrate nitrate from samples, and the potential limitations of the dual isotope analysis along with the resolutions. To enhance the applicability of the dual isotope analysis as well as increase the ability to interpret field data, this paper also introduced several case studies. Furthermore, other environmental tracers including ${\delta}^{11}B$ and $Cl^-/Br^-$ ratios were discussed to accompany the dual isotope analysis for better assignment of contamination sources even when microbial transformation of nitrate and/or mixing between contaminant plumes occur.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.207-214
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• 1996

For many years oxygen and hydrogen isotope analysis have been used as one of the most valuable research tools to investigate many geological processes. There are many sample preparation techniques of oxygen and hydrogen isotope analysis for various geological samples. We introduce here several important sample preparation techniques for oxygen and hydrogen isotope analysis and discuss the problems of each method in detail.

• Proceedings of the KSEEG Conference
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• 2001.04a
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• pp.212-213
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• 2001

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.195-200
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• 2017

Background: The natural ratios of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and sulfur (S) stable isotopes can be varied in some specific living organisms owing to various isotopic fractionation processes in nature. Therefore, the analysis of C, N, and S stable isotope ratios in ginseng can provide a feasible method for determining ginseng authenticity depending on the cultivation land and type of fertilizer. Methods: C, N, and S stable isotope composition in 6-yr-old ginseng roots (Jagyeongjong variety) was measured by isotope ratio mass spectrometry. Results: The type of cultivation land and organic fertilizers affected the C, N, and S stable isotope ratio in ginseng (p < 0.05). The ${\delta}^{15}N_{AIR}$ and ${\delta}^{34}S_{VCDT}$ values in ginseng roots more significantly discriminated the cultivation land and type of organic fertilizers in ginseng cultivation than the ${\delta}^{13}C_{VPDB}$ value. The combination of ${\delta}^{13}C_{VPDB}$, ${\delta}^{15}N_{AIR}$, or ${\delta}^{34}S_{VCDT}$ in ginseng, except the combination ${\delta}^{13}C_{VPDB}-^{34}S_{VCDT}$, showed a better discrimination depending on soil type or fertilizer type. Conclusion: This case study provides preliminary results about the variation of C, N, and S isotope composition in ginseng according to the cultivation soil type and organic fertilizer type. Hence, our findings are potentially applicable to evaluate ginseng authenticity depending on cultivation conditions.

• Proceedings of the KSEEG Conference
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• 2002.04a
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• pp.59-61
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• 2002

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.19 no.spc
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• pp.131-138
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• 1986

Hydrogen and oxygen isotope ratios of thirteen of the under 2 micron size fraction of the montmorillonites were measured. The oxygen isotopic compositions of these samples range from + 17.0 to +25.1 permil and the hydrogen isotope compositions range from -47.5 to -65.8 permil with an average standard deviation of 0.7 and 2.7 permil, respectively. The oxygen isotope compositions show a positive relationship with stratigraphy whereas the hydrogen isotope compositions do not. It suggest that the montmorillonite attained isotopic equilibrium at the maximum burial depth and ratained their oxygen isotope composition on subsequent uplift. Possibilities of montmorillonite formation by weathering or hydrothermal alteration of volcanic material are eliminated by the ${\delta}D$ and ${\delta}^{18}O$ values of these samples. Calculated formation temperature lie between 29 to $80^{\circ}C$.

• Molecular & Cellular Toxicology
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.11-14
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• 2006

In this study we attempted to develop a novel genomic method to selectively isolate target functional microbial genomes from environmental samples. For this purpose, stable isotope probing (SIP) was applied in selectively isolating organic pollutant-assimilating populations. When soil microbes were fed with $^{13}C-labeled $ biphenyl, biphenyl-utilizing cells were incorporated with the heavy carbon isotope. The heavy DNA portion was successfully separated by CsCl equilibrium density gradient. And the diversity in the heavy DNA was sufficiently reduced, being suitable for the current DNA microarray techniques to detect biphenyl-utilizing populations in the soil. In addition, we proposed a new way to get more genetic information by combining this SIP method with selective metagenomic approach. The increased selective power of these new DNA isolation methods will be expected to provide a good quality of new genetic information, which, in turn, will result in development of a variety of biomarkers that may be used in assessing ecotoxicology issues including the impacts of organic hazards, and antibiotic-resistant pathogens on human and ecological systems.