Open data

IGDB, 180 factors, 180 citations

The isotopic fractionation factors used by IsoFind are published in an open format, one file per isotopic system, under the CC BY 4.0 licence. Every numeric value carries its citation, without exception.

The databases at a glance

Databases14 isotopic systems
Entries180
FormatTOML, .igdb extension
LicenceCC BY 4.0
IntegritySHA-256 digest per file
The rule

A value without a source does not get in

A factor whose origin cannot be named is a factor nobody can check, and a database of those costs more than it saves.

Citation required

The citation is a property of the entry, not a footnote. The format refuses it absent, so an incomplete database does not build.

What to cite in a paper

The database says where a value is found, the publication says what justifies it. It is the latter that belongs in your references.

Five values withheld

Of the 180 rows in IsoFind's internal database, five had no identifiable citation. They are not published, and they are named in the reference paper rather than quietly patched.

The content

Fourteen systems, by element

The table below lists what each database covers. The files can be downloaded from igl-lang.org, with their digests.

ElementRatioEntriesSources
Cd114Cd/110Cd1615
Cr53Cr/52Cr2624
Cu65Cu/63Cu1918
Fe56Fe/54Fe2828
Li7Li/6Li55
Ni60Ni/58Ni65
Pb206Pb/204Pb11
Pb207Pb/206Pb21
Pb208Pb/206Pb31
Sb123Sb/121Sb3823
Se82Se/76Se98
Sr88Sr/86Sr77
W186W/184W21
Zn66Zn/64Zn1818
The structure

Three independent axes

The same vocabulary describes a process in the database, in the language and in the identification engine. A lookup table between the three would have had no future but to diverge.

Mechanism

adsorption, biological, dissolution, evaporation, precipitation, redox, uptake

Context

pyrometallurgy, hydrometallurgy, natural, biotic

Regime

equilibrium or kinetic

One finding made while normalising the database is worth knowing for its users: the delta convention of published sources is not constant, sometimes product minus reactant and sometimes the reverse. Thirty-four rows out of a hundred and eighty came out with the roles inverted. Initial and final oxidation states are now what settles the roles.

Download the databases

The fourteen files are published on igl-lang.org with their SHA-256 digests. They read in a text editor and work with any conforming engine.