Rocha E. auteur aut IRD Dufraisse A. auteur aut IRD Rinne-Garmston K. T. auteur aut IRD Sahlstedt E. auteur aut IRD Mendez-Millan Mercedes auteur aut IRD Tu T. T. N. auteur aut IRD Girardclos O. auteur aut IRD Lemoine M. auteur aut IRD Ghavidel A. auteur aut IRD Terrei L. auteur aut IRD Collin A. auteur aut IRD Bellot-Gurlet L. auteur aut IRD Delarue F. auteur aut IRD text journalArticle eng text/pdf reformatted digital access The fire of the Notre-Dame de Paris's cathedral (NDP) in 2019 brought a unique opportunity to study the past environmental conditions in the region during the High Middle Ages through the charred oak beams of the "Forest" (name given to its framework). However, as a preamble, there is a need to evaluate the preservation of the stable carbon isotope signatures (delta C-13) in response to changes in molecular composition, occurring with carbonisation. To this end, experimental studies were conducted on modern and NDP oak wood at both inter- and intra-annual levels. Laser ablation was used for the first time on burnt wood. Results show that regardless of the charring duration, at temperatures above 500 degrees C, carbonisation-induced C-13 fractionation shows a consistent decrease (Delta C-13) of approximately 1 parts per thousand relative to uncharred values. Despite a slight decrease in variance, a strong and significant correlation (r(mean )= 0.9, p < 0.01) was observed between the uncharred time series and the carbonised counterpart, showing that the C isotopic variability is preserved. This study paves the way to use the charcoal remains from the Notre-Dame de Paris framework as a unique paleoenvironmental archive. specialized Carbon isotope Inter- and intra-annual signal Deciduous oak Laser ablation Charcoal Wood FRANCE 112 020 61 104894 [10 ] 2025 2352-409X https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010092189 10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104894 2352-409X [F B010092189] https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010092189 https://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/2025-01/010092189.pdf IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2025-01-22 2025-11-04 fdi:010092189 fre