This book provides an overview of the fundamentals and reference values for Ca stable isotope research, as well as current analytical methodologies including detailed instructions for sample preparation and isotope analysis. As such, it introduces readers to the different fields of application, including low-temperature mineral precipitation and biomineralisation, Earth surface processes and global cycling, high-temperature processes and cosmochemistry, and lastly human studies and biomedical applications. The current state of the art in these major areas is discussed, and open questions and possible future directions are identified. In terms of its depth and coverage, the current work extends and complements the previous reviews of Ca stable isotope geochemistry, addressing the needs of graduate students and advanced researchers who want to familiarize themselves with Ca stable isotope research.

Anne-Desirée Schmitt obtained her PhD at the University of Strasbourg (F), went as a post-doctoral fellow to the MPI of Chemistry (Mainz, D) and is now a Maître de Conférences (Associate Prof.) at the University of Franche-Comté (F), where she studies Ca isotope fractionations in surface processes. Dr. Alexander Heuser studied mineralogy at the University of Göttingen. He obtained his doctorate at GEOMAR/University of Kiel for his work on the Ca isotope geochemistry of foraminifera. He is now working on Ca isotope geochemistry of (fossil) bones and biological Ca isotope fractionation at the University of Bonn. Nikolaus Gussone studied geology at the RWTH-Aachen and University of Göttingen. He obtained his doctorate at the GEOMAR/University of Kiel, went as post-doctoral fellow to the Research Center Ocean Margins (Bremen) and is presently at the University of Münster, researching different aspect of Ca isotope geochemistry. Dr. Frank Wombacher studied Geology in Würzburg, Edinburgh and Göttingen. He received his doctorate at the University of Münster for the determination of Cd isotopes in rocks and meteorites. As a post-doc at the IFM-GEOMAR in Kiel he analysed modern biogenic carbonates for their Mg isotope compositions. Currently he is a researcher at the Freie Universität Berlin. Florian Böhm studied geology and palaeontology at the University of Erlangen, where he did his doctorate about microfacies and lithostratigraphy of alpine Jurassic limestones. He later moved to the IFM-GEOMAR in Kiel where he started studying Ca isotopes in a project about the variability of seawater calcium during the Phanerozoic.