| 英文摘要: | Geological field expeditions in polar regions are logistically difficult, financially expensive, and can have a significant environmental impact on pristine regions. The scarcity of exposed rock outcrop in Antarctica, which is 98% ice-covered, makes previously collected rock samples very valuable to the science community. The U.S. Polar Rock Repository (PRR) was established at the Ohio State University in 2003 to meet the need for preserving rock, dredge, and terrestrial core samples from polar areas. The PRR curates geological samples collected primarily from Antarctica and the southern oceans and acquires these collections through donations from institutions and scientists. The existence of the PRR allows samples collected at a high financial cost to be used to their full scientific potential. Currently more than 40,000 samples are available as no-cost loans for research, education, and museum exhibits. In addition to the physical samples, the PRR archives supporting materials from the collector, such as images of the samples, field maps, air photos, thin sections, and any associated bibliography/DOIs. Scientists, graduate students, and undergraduate students routinely use samples from the PRR for their research projects. The PRR also freely loans an educational 'rock box' that contains representative rock, fossil and mineral samples, books and activities about geology and Antarctica to K-12 teachers from across the United States.
The PRR provides stewardship of polar rock sample collections and metadata. It is one of the few lending rock repositories to allow destructive research techniques to be used on samples. The PRR website and in-house digital metadata archive provides for global dissemination of data and also a unique resource for pilot studies, proposal preparation and field logistics planning. The PRR fulfills the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), Antarctic Data Management (2009) directive of providing free, full and open access to metadata and collections. Over the course of the next 5 years, the PRR will work proactively with the research community to acquire scientifically valuable rock collections and supplementary materials that will enhance the PRR collection. Samples will be cataloged following standard curatorial practices and will be made discoverable through the public facing portion of the Collections Management system developed at the Byrd Polar Climate and Research Center. The preservation of these physical samples, along with archiving of associated metadata, and inclusion of DOI?s in a discoverable online database, allows for transparency and reproducibility in polar earth science research. The Collections Management System will continue to be updated and improved. The Curator will continue to advance the discoverability of the PRR by attending meetings, creating a webinar and contacting scientists about new collections at the facility. The PRR will continue to fulfill loans of samples and enhance the links with other respositories and data management entities to better enable interdisciplinary research. Educational outreach to K-12 schools will continue with the 'polar rock box' being freely available to US schools. |