Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry in Forensic Science Applications

Attention is given to the natural abundance differences in the stable isotopes of carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, and oxygen, because they are the most abundant and informative elements in typical forensic casework. This report also presents some of the recent developments in normalization, error reporting, and data analysis, which together provide a more scientific and robust foundation for admissibility in court. The review focuses on research published in the last decade and is organized into 10 major sections, including human provenancing, wildlife forensics, environmental forensics, seized drugs, ignitable liquids, explosives, food forensics, poisoning, questioned documents and miscellaneous applications. (publisher abstract modified)