However, he cautions that the
natural isotopic abundances might be different on Mars than on Earth, which would complicate the analysis.
Measurement techniques today are so sensitive that samples of food, water or pollutants can often be traced to their sources based
on isotopic abundance.
Chemist Matt Hartings of American University in Washington, D.C., says that most chemists who don't think regularly
about isotopic abundances or teach general chemistry at college would probably consider the atomic weights as constants.
Warren expected his meteorites to display a continuum of
isotopic abundances, because he assumed they had formed across the one broad region of the asteroid belt.
[2] During the formation of the embryo skeletons, oxygen from the egg fluids was transferred to the embryo bones,
the isotopic abundance of which would depend on the temperature of the egg.
«As an industrial civilization, we're driving changes in
the isotopic abundances because we're burning carbon,» Frank says.
The ability to accurately determine the rate of this H - 17O fusion reaction provides nuclear physicists with another key puzzle piece, alongside direct observations of oxygen elemental and
isotopic abundances in stellar atmospheres and in primitive meteorites, to zero in on complete and accurate models of stars.
«As an industrial civilization, we're driving changes in
the isotopic abundances because we're burning carbon,» Frank says.
«As an industrial civilisation, we're driving changes in
the isotopic abundances because we're burning carbon,» said Professor Frank.