Dendritic network models: Improving isoscapes and quantifying influence of landscape and in‐stream processes on strontium isotopes in rivers

Abstract A critical challenge for the Earth sciences is to trace the transport and flux of matter within and among aquatic, terrestrial, and atmospheric systems. Robust descriptions of isotopic patterns across space and time, called “isoscapes,” form the basis of a rapidly growing and wide‐ranging b...

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Main Authors: Sean R. Brennan, Christian E. Torgersen, Jeff P. Hollenbeck, Diego P. Fernandez, Carrie K. Jensen, Daniel E. Schindler
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2016-05-01
Series:Geophysical Research Letters
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL068904
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author Sean R. Brennan
Christian E. Torgersen
Jeff P. Hollenbeck
Diego P. Fernandez
Carrie K. Jensen
Daniel E. Schindler
author_facet Sean R. Brennan
Christian E. Torgersen
Jeff P. Hollenbeck
Diego P. Fernandez
Carrie K. Jensen
Daniel E. Schindler
author_sort Sean R. Brennan
collection DOAJ
description Abstract A critical challenge for the Earth sciences is to trace the transport and flux of matter within and among aquatic, terrestrial, and atmospheric systems. Robust descriptions of isotopic patterns across space and time, called “isoscapes,” form the basis of a rapidly growing and wide‐ranging body of research aimed at quantifying connectivity within and among Earth's systems. However, isoscapes of rivers have been limited by conventional Euclidean approaches in geostatistics and the lack of a quantitative framework to apportion the influence of processes driven by landscape features versus in‐stream phenomena. Here we demonstrate how dendritic network models substantially improve the accuracy of isoscapes of strontium isotopes and partition the influence of hydrologic transport versus local geologic features on strontium isotope ratios in a large Alaska river. This work illustrates the analytical power of dendritic network models for the field of isotope biogeochemistry, particularly for provenance studies of modern and ancient animals.
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series Geophysical Research Letters
spelling doaj-art-6514393b82ba4810bc06fdd2e3337a002025-08-20T03:10:24ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072016-05-0143105043505110.1002/2016GL068904Dendritic network models: Improving isoscapes and quantifying influence of landscape and in‐stream processes on strontium isotopes in riversSean R. Brennan0Christian E. Torgersen1Jeff P. Hollenbeck2Diego P. Fernandez3Carrie K. Jensen4Daniel E. Schindler5School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences University of Washington Seattle Washington USAForest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Cascadia Field Station U.S. Geological Survey Corvallis Oregon USAForest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Cascadia Field Station U.S. Geological Survey Corvallis Oregon USADepartment of Geology and Geophysics University of Utah Salt Lake City Utah USADepartment of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg Virginia USASchool of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences University of Washington Seattle Washington USAAbstract A critical challenge for the Earth sciences is to trace the transport and flux of matter within and among aquatic, terrestrial, and atmospheric systems. Robust descriptions of isotopic patterns across space and time, called “isoscapes,” form the basis of a rapidly growing and wide‐ranging body of research aimed at quantifying connectivity within and among Earth's systems. However, isoscapes of rivers have been limited by conventional Euclidean approaches in geostatistics and the lack of a quantitative framework to apportion the influence of processes driven by landscape features versus in‐stream phenomena. Here we demonstrate how dendritic network models substantially improve the accuracy of isoscapes of strontium isotopes and partition the influence of hydrologic transport versus local geologic features on strontium isotope ratios in a large Alaska river. This work illustrates the analytical power of dendritic network models for the field of isotope biogeochemistry, particularly for provenance studies of modern and ancient animals.https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL068904strontium isotopesprovenance researchdendritic network modelsisoscapesbiogeochemistry of rivers
spellingShingle Sean R. Brennan
Christian E. Torgersen
Jeff P. Hollenbeck
Diego P. Fernandez
Carrie K. Jensen
Daniel E. Schindler
Dendritic network models: Improving isoscapes and quantifying influence of landscape and in‐stream processes on strontium isotopes in rivers
Geophysical Research Letters
strontium isotopes
provenance research
dendritic network models
isoscapes
biogeochemistry of rivers
title Dendritic network models: Improving isoscapes and quantifying influence of landscape and in‐stream processes on strontium isotopes in rivers
title_full Dendritic network models: Improving isoscapes and quantifying influence of landscape and in‐stream processes on strontium isotopes in rivers
title_fullStr Dendritic network models: Improving isoscapes and quantifying influence of landscape and in‐stream processes on strontium isotopes in rivers
title_full_unstemmed Dendritic network models: Improving isoscapes and quantifying influence of landscape and in‐stream processes on strontium isotopes in rivers
title_short Dendritic network models: Improving isoscapes and quantifying influence of landscape and in‐stream processes on strontium isotopes in rivers
title_sort dendritic network models improving isoscapes and quantifying influence of landscape and in stream processes on strontium isotopes in rivers
topic strontium isotopes
provenance research
dendritic network models
isoscapes
biogeochemistry of rivers
url https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL068904
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