Opinion: Why we need a centralized repository for isotopic data

Jonathan N. Pauli; Seth D. Newsome; Joseph A. Cook; Chris Harrod; Shawn A. Steffan; Christopher J. O. Baker; Merav Ben-David; David Bloom; Gabriel J. Bowen; Thure E. Cerling; Carla Cicero; Craig Cook; Michelle Dohm; Prarthana S. Dharampal; Gary Graves; Robert Gropp; Keith A. Hobson; Chris Jordan; Bruce MacFadden; Suzanne Pilaar Birch; Jorrit Poelen; Sujeevan Ratnasingham; Laura Russell; Craig A. Stricker; Mark D. Uhen; Christopher T. Yarnes; Brian Hayden

doi:10.1073/pnas.1701742114

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Opinion: Why we need a centralized repository for isotopic data

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Abstract

Stable isotopes encode and integrate the origin of matter; thus, their analysis offers tremendous potential to address questions across diverse scientific disciplines ( 1 , 2 ). Indeed, the broad applicability of stable isotopes, coupled with advancements in high-throughput analysis, have created a scientific field that is growing exponentially, and generating data at a rate paralleling the explosive rise of DNA sequencing and genomics ( 3 ). Centralized data repositories, such as GenBank, have become increasingly important as a means for archiving information, and “Big Data” analytics of these resources are revolutionizing science and everyday life.

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Jonathan N. Pauli, Seth D. Newsome, Joseph A. Cook, Chris Harrod, Shawn A. Steffan, Christopher J. O. Baker, Merav Ben-David, David Bloom, Gabriel J. Bowen, Thure E. Cerling, Carla Cicero, Craig Cook, Michelle Dohm, Prarthana S. Dharampal, Gary Graves, Robert Gropp, Keith A. Hobson, Chris Jordan, Bruce MacFadden, Suzanne Pilaar Birch, Jorrit Poelen, Sujeevan Ratnasingham, Laura Russell, Craig A. Stricker, Mark D. Uhen, Christopher T. Yarnes, Brian Hayden. 2017-03-21. Opinion: Why we need a centralized repository for isotopic data. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1701742114

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