The Project: Introduction to
Atoms and Isotopes

What’s an isotope?

An isotope is a form of an element. Chemical elements are building blocks. Some of the most important elements are carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen. An element can have several different forms. For example, carbon (C) has three different isotopes, or forms: C12, C13, and C14. Each of these isotopes is carbon, but there are differences among them. The number by their “name” tells you what form or isotope it. Most elements found in nature are mixtures of several isotopes. Tin, for example, has 10 isotopes.

So, what do those numbers mean? How do you tell one isotope apart from another, when they are forms of the same element? Click here for an introduction to atoms and isotopes.

• The Project
• Research questions
• Research methods  

This special report was made possible by NSF Marine Geology and Geophysics Award Nos. OCE-0326573 to Fredrick Prahl (Oregon State University)and OCE-0324299 to Brian N. Popp (University of Hawaii) for study of "Alkenone Production and Productivity in Contrasting Surface Water Environments in the North Pacific Ocean."