A framework for the incorporation of isotopes and isoscapes in geospatial forensic investigations

A field that will likely benefit from the developments of isoscapes is forensic sciences, where there is an interest in understanding where evidentiary material might have originated from. This chapter focuses on one small aspect of this large field through exploration of how analyses of hydrogen and oxygen isotopes in water and in human body tissues may be applied to forensic applications where spatially relevant information is required as part of an investigation. The applications of isocapes to forensic sciences are broad, including wildlife, food sourcing, and murder investigations. While the focus of this chapter is on hydrogen and oxygen isotopes, the analyses of heavy elements are an equally important component that can be scaled to include broad geo-spatial patterns