19th International CODATA Conference
Category: Poster, Interoperability

Solid Earth Sample Registry (SESAR)

Kerstin Lehnert and Steve Goldstein, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, USA
W. Christopher Lenhardt, Deputy Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC), Manager CIESIN - Columbia University, USA


This paper will describe the need for and the development of a web-based community tool to support the unique identification of geological samples. We will outline the need for unique sample identification, the challenges associated with classifying samples uniquely, the benefits of uniquely identifying samples, the process by which a researcher would use the tool to uniquely identify research samples, and we will address the need for building a community-wide consensus supporting this tool. This effort builds on the experience of projects, such as the Petrological Database of the Ocean Floor (PetDB -
http://petdb.ldeo.columbia.edu/petdb/), an effort led by researchers at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University.

Use of unique identifiers can be found in many scientific disciplines and are "de rigueur" in the museum and archival communities. In addition, the principles of relational database technology require unique identifiers in order to relate various elements in the database structure. This type of infrastructure is similar to efforts to develop persistent identifiers for web-based resources such as outlined in the recent CENDI white paper on persistent identification (see http://www.dtic.mil/cendi/publications/04-2persist_id.html). Current trends integrating advanced information technology infrastructure and the scientific process are important drivers behind the need for unique sample identification.

However, in order for an effort of this type to be successful it will require a broad-based national and international coalition of researchers, funding agencies, publishers, and scientific professional organizations to support the development and use of such a tool.