Members
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Australia
GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Germany
In research fields that deal with physical objects, it is essential to establish a connection between the object and its metadata, ensuring that all subsequent research outcomes are tied to the original source. Using the International Generic Sample Number (IGSN) is a reliable method of achieving this connection. When dealing with geological samples, we aim to assign IGSNs at the earliest possible stage, i.e. during a research expedition. This ensures that the IGSNs can be:
printed on sample labels going off to different research institutions
listed in the expedition report
incorporated in every data and research publication.
Doris Maicher, GEOMAR
Helmholtz-Zentrum Potsdam - Deutsches GeoForschungsZentrum GFZ, Germany
The System for Earth Sample Registration (SESAR), USA
MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, Germany
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, USA
We have used IGSN to register more than 2000 water samples from the Global Rivers Observatory to provide the community with access to metadata on our samples in case they want to contact us to evaluate sharing splits of samples for additional analyses. We are also using IGSN in publications to cross-reference analytical data for samples that are spread over multiple publications, thereby helping others to relate analyses to the appropriate samples and metadata.
Regarding the Sea Floor Samples Lab, we currently have over 18,000 samples registered with IGSNs. These are mostly sediment cores and rock samples. We use the IGSNs as a way for the community to have easy access to the metadata associated with given samples to determine sampling needs. Along with this, we hope that the assigning of IGSNs to subsamples will allow people to find how samples are being used and facilitate collaboration between scientists. We hope that, in turn, the IGSNs will be used in publications to allow us to track the use of our samples as they are distributed around the world.
Bernhard P-Ehrenbrink and Mitchell Starr, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources
Korea Institute of Geoscience & Mineral Resources(KIGAM) uses IGSN to share metadata about geological samples such as rocks and cores with many people through the Geobig Data Open Platform, which is the K-Geoscience Data Hub. Through this, the reliability of geological samples held by KIGAM can be increased, and anyone can easily search for and utilize geological samples.
Dr JongGyu Han, KIGAM
Christian-Albrechts University Kiel
CNRS-INSU Centre for Scientific Research - National Institute of Sciences of the Universe, France
IFREMER - French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea
LithoDat
IGSNs are essential to our work, serving as a fundamental tool. They enable us and our users to create digital replicas of physical samples in the virtual world, connected through QR codes. With IGSNs, our users can easily generate unique identifiers for individual samples or mint large quantities in bulk. The significance of IGSNs lies in their ability to establish links between information related to specific samples across multiple systems. Without IGSNs, it would be impossible for us to seamlessly integrate our data about samples, making them indispensable for our data integration needs.
Dr Fabian Kohlmann, Lithodat
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, USA
Continental Scientific Drilling Facility, University of Minnesota, USA
Environmental System Science Data Infrastructure for a Virtual Ecosystem, USA