From Evidence to Origin: Solving Mysteries with Isoscapes with Gabe Bowen

<p>In this episode of <em>GeOCHemISTea</em>, Sam sits down with Gabe Bowen to explore the world of forensic isotope geochemistry and the power of isoscapes.</p><p>From identifying where someone has lived, to reconstructing movement through hair and teeth, isotopes are becoming a powerful investigative tool—bridging geochemistry, ecology, and forensic science.</p><p>They break down:</p><ul><li>What forensic isotope geochemistry actually is (and what it isn’t)</li><li>How isoscapes turn isotope data into geographic maps</li><li>Why hydrogen, oxygen, strontium, and sulfur matter</li><li>How hair, teeth, and bone record different parts of a life story</li><li>The role of geochemistry in solving cold cases and tracking animal movement</li></ul><p>And yes... there’s a detour into true crime, salmon migration, and what isotopes might reveal about your last vacation.</p><p>This episode highlights how geochemistry extends far beyond rocks and into real-world problems with immediate impact.</p><p>🎧 If you’ve ever wondered how geochemistry can help answer the question <em>“Where did this come from?”... </em>this one’s for you.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>For this episode we read: </strong></p><p><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1556-4029.70030?af=R" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">Human tissue oxygen and strontium isotope values in North America: A data compilation and assessment for forensic geolocation (Verostick et al., 2025) </a><a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/2041-210X.14218" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">BITS: A Bayesian Isotope Turnover and Sampling model for strontium isotopes in proboscideans and its potential utility in movement ecology (Yang et al., 2023)</a></p><p><a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-90-481-3354-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">Isoscapes: Understanding movement, pattern, and process on Earth through isotope mapping (West et al., 2010)</a></p><p><a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0275902" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">Multi-isotopes in human hair: A tool to initiate cross-border collaboration in international cold-cases (Batalle et al., 2022)</a></p>