SNRAS hosts ASITA workshop

Stable isotope experts from around the world will gather at the University of Alaska Fairbanks June 10-13 to learn about the newest techniques and applications in their field. Workshop topics include stable isotopes in honey, western Aleutian seabirds, methane and more. One of the most unusual presentations will cover a Canadian project that established a database of isotopes and trace elements in water and human hair for use in crime research.

Isotopes are atoms of elements that have the same number of protons and electrons but different numbers of neutrons. A stable isotope is one that doesn't decay over time. Those additional or missing neutrons in an isotope slightly alter the mass of the atom, allowing scientists to separate the light isotopes from the heavy ones and form a ratio for each sample. That ratio can tell scientists about the sample and its origins.

Dubbed "ASITA," the workshop addresses advances in stable isotope techniques and applications.

Among the speakers are Gilles St-Jean of G.G. Hatch Stable Isotope Laboratory, University of Ottawa, Paul Middlestead of the G.G. Hatch Stable Isotope Laboratory at University of Ottawa and Peter Stow of ISOMASS Scientific Inc. in Calgary, Alberta.

UAF School of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences is hosting the workshop. Researchers in the school use isotope research on soils from Alaska’s forests. Sponsors are ThermoFisher Scientific/ISOMASS Scientific Inc., elementar, Picarro, SerCon, Isotech Laboratories Inc. and Elemental Microanalysis.

For details, visit http://www.uaf.edu/asita/.