UID: The uranium isotope database

Abstract

As the parent element in the U-Pb and Pb-Pb radiochronometers, uranium (U) was one of the first heavy elements whose isotopic composition was carefully determined. Thought to be constant until the end of the 20th century, the ratio of the long-lived isotopes of U (²³⁸8U/²³⁵U) has since been shown to be variable at the permil to sub-permil levels in natural materials. Today, the study of U isotopes has found applications in a variety of fields including geo/cosmochronology, oceanic paleoredox reconstruction, magmatic differentiation, environmental remediation, and forensic studies. With thousands of newly reported U isotopic data each year, a real need exists for a comprehensive U isotope database. Here, we introduce a global, updatable, U isotope database (UID), which not only contains the most expansive, internally consistent U isotopic dataset to date (14,591 entries from more than 320 papers), but also includes all other sample data from the original publications, as well as the relevant metadata and sample information to facilitate further analysis. The UID is freely accessible and will be updated regularly. All data are normalized to the widely-used CRM-145 standard, and all assumptions used to convert the published data are explicitly detailed in the paper and the database itself. New data can be easily formatted and submitted for incorporation into the database. Using the UID we provide new recommended δ238U values for certified U standards and geostandards and discuss important applications and future directions for U isotope studies.

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