Impact of strontium sea spray effect on the isotopic ratio (87Sr/86Sr) of plants in coastal Ireland.

Strontium isotopes are often used to study the mobility of ancient populations (e.g. Bentley 2013). In order to identify individuals that moved from one region to another, the strontium isotopic ratios (87Sr/86Sr) of archaeological human remains (most often tooth enamel) are compared to the local biologically available strontium values, generally based on modern plant samples, some of which are readily available in the literature (e.g. Evans et al. 2010 for Britain). Such data was not available for Ireland. As an island, the strontium isotope ratios of plants from coastal zones could well be affected by a sea spray effect (Whipkey et al. 2000; Frei et al. 2009).