The relative abundance of clumped isotopes (and multiply-substituted isotopologues) in molecules such as methane, nitrous oxide, and carbonate is an area of active investigation.
[3] Commonly used sample sources for paleoclimatological work include corals, otoliths, gastropods, tufa, bivalves, and foraminifera.
[14] Studies have used temperatures derived from clumped isotopes for varied and numerous paleoclimate applications — to constrain δ18O of past seawater,[18] pinpoint the timing of icehouse-hothouse transitions,[19] track changes in ice volume through an ice age,[20] and to reconstruct temperature changes in ancient lake basins.
[26][24] Thus, variation in water temperature implied by Δ47 could indicate changes in lake altitude, driven by tectonic uplift or subsidence.
[23][27] Measurements of Δ47 can be used to constrain natural and synthetic sources of atmospheric CO2, (e.g. respiration and combustion), as each of these processes are associated with different average Δ47 temperatures of formation.
Eagle et al., 2010 measure Δ47 in bioapatite from a modern Indian elephant, white rhinoceros, Nile crocodile and American alligator.
This relationship has been applied to analyses of fossil teeth, in order to predict the body temperatures of a woolly mammoth and a sauropod dinosaur.
For example, when carbonate is isotopically reset by high temperatures, measurements of Δ47 can provide information about the duration and extent of metamorphic alteration.
In one such study, Δ47 from late Neoproterozoic Doushantou cap carbonate is used to assess the temperature evolution of the lower crust in southern China.
[33][34] An emerging body of work highlights the application potential for clumped isotopes to reconstruct temperature and fluid properties in hydrothermal ore deposits.
In mineral exploration, delineation of the heat footprint around an ore body provides critical insight into the processes that drive transport and deposition of metals.
During proof of concept studies, clumped isotopes were used to provide accurate temperature reconstructions in epithermal, sediment hosted, and Mississippi Valley Type (MVT) deposits.