BOSCORF Publications


New from the Geological Society of London
Geological Society Special Publication 267: 'New Techniques in Sediment Core Analysis'
Edited by the BOSCORF Curator

In this book, recent advances in core logging and imaging technology and their application to the analysis of sediment cores are presented. Developments in providing access to core data and associated datasets, and advances in data mining technology in order to integrate and interpret new and legacy datasets within the wider context of seafloor studies are also discussed. Copies of this book can be purchased from the Geological Society Bookshop.

Papers relating to the ITRAX micro-xrf corescanner and a review of core logging technology from the volume can be downloaded in pdf form below.

Click here to view contents page (Adobe PDF, 0.25MB)

Rothwell & Rack: New techniques in sediment core logging (Adobe PDF, 2.7MB)
Croudace et al: ITRAX - description and evaluation of a new multi-function X-ray core scanner (Adobe PDF, 0.8MB)
Thomson et al: A geochemical application of the ITRAX scanner to a sediment core containing eastern Mediterranean sapropel units (Adobe PDF, 1.1MB)
Rothwell et al: Turbidite emplacement on the southern Balearic Abyssal Plain (western Mediterranean Sea) during Marine Isotope Stages 1–3: an application of ITRAX XRF scanning of sediment cores to lithostratigraphic analysis (Adobe PDF, 1.9MB)

Marine Sample Collections: their value, use and future
Edited: R.G. Rothwell
IACMST Information Document No. 8, 56 pp

As part of its commitment to consult on, and promote marine science and technology, the UK Inter Agency Committee on Marine Science and Technology (IACMST) publishes a series of Information Documents which review topical issues. Oceanographic physcial object collections (biological specimens, rock and sediment samples, photographs etc.) are important raw data resources of long-standing value to the scientific community. In April 2000, the IACMST sponsored a meeting of the oceanographic community to review modern and potential usage of biological and geological marine collections, and discuss common problems relating to provision of wider access and adequate funding of these important data resources.

This meeting, held at the Natural History Museum, London, as part of its Millennium Science Festival, attracted marine scientists and collection management specialists from all over the United Kingdom and also from Europe. Marine Sample Collections - their value, use and future presents articles derived from talks given at the meeting and the conclusions and recommendations of the workshop. The articles cover overviews of important marine sample collections within the United Kingdom and presentation of modern, often cutting-edge, research that has relied extensively on pre-existing marine sample collections.

Collecting marine samples has been, and is, extremely costly. Proper curation and data management can extend the value of marine samples considerably, providing a greater return on the cost of collecting the samples in the first place. The United Kingdom is fortunate in that its institutions host marine collections of global importance. Marine Sample Collections - their value, use and future provides an overview of the United Kingdom's marine sample holdings, their continued value in modern research and the problems faced by collection facilities. It is hoped that it will play a role both in informing and stimulating debate.


Contents

Marine Sample collections in the United Kingdom

Collections: Past, Present and Future
Phil Rainbow (Natural History Museum. London)

BOSCOR - The United Kingdom’s national core repository
Guy Rothwell and David Gunn (Southampton Oceanography Centre)

The British Geological Survey marine core collection
Colin Graham (British Geological Survey, Edinburgh)

The Atlantic Frontier Environmental Network surveys - A good example of how to develop collections
Susan Chambers (National Museums of Scotland, Edinburgh)

Archiving seafloor photographs and video
Ivor Rees (University of Wales, Bangor)

Marine invertebrate collections in the National Museum of Wales
Andrew Mackie (National Museum of Wales, Cardiff)

The value of marine sample collections in scientific research

A proposal for the safe-keeping of marine invertebrate specimens collected during environmental survey programmes
Andrew Mackie (National Museum of Wales, Cardiff)

The role of extensive existing sample collections in geobiological,ecological and sedimentological research
John Wilson (Royal Holloway, University of London) and Michael Thurston (Southampton Oceanography Centre)

EU-SEASED - A new initiative for accessing the European marine sample archive
Guy Rothwell (Southampton Oceanography Centre)

Museum algal collections and environmental change
Ian Tittley (Natural History Museum, London)

The determination of glycogen in preserved material as a retrospective indicator of environmental stress
Lawrence Hawkins, S. Hutchinson, S.D. Batten (Southampton Oceanography Centre), P.J.D. Lambshead and G.L.J. Paterson (Natural History Museum London)

Molecular methods for marine biodiversity research and the use of preserved materials from museum collections
Alex Rodgers (Southampton Oceanography Centre)

Securing the future of marine sample collections

Conclusions and recommendations
Gordon Paterson (Natural History Museum, London)

'Marine Sample Collections - their value, use and future' (IACMST Information Document No. 8) is available from Dr Guy Rothwell, Challenger Division for Seafloor Processes, Southampton Oceanography Centre, European Way, Empress Dock, Southampton, SO14 3ZH, United Kingdom.
Tel: +44 (0)2380 596567 Fax: +44 (0)2380 596554
e-mail: rgr@soc.soton.ac.uk


© BOSCORF 2007