Geochemistry in the 21st Century
A new GERM initiative

Published in the Geochemical News
Issue #108: 19-20, July 2001

S.L. Goldstein and W. Melson

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Proposal

At the March 2001 GERM3 (Geochemical Earth Reference Model) Meeting in La Jolla, CA, a new initiative was launched that could have a major impact on the way we do terrestrial petrology and geochemistry. Its concept is based on procedures long established for meteorites, lunar samples, and marine cores and dredges. It is also in limited use at a number of museums, especially the U.S. National Museum. We propose establishing a set of protocols for archiving and accessing of important geological and environmental samples to a far greater extent than currently in effect. The objective is to allow for a more broad-based access by the research community to important terrestrial samples, as well as responsible preservation of record keepers of the past history of our planet. Moreover, we foresee that in the future such important samples collected with public monies become public domain after a period where the collectors have sole investigative priority.

How often do we say to ourselves, "I wish I had those samples?" Those of us who work on samples from both above and below the water line are keenly aware of the differences in sample availability. If we want to work on terrestrial samples, we might be lucky and find that they are housed in a museum or a university collection. More generally, we have to organize a field trip, and begin our investigation from scratch. Or we find someone who has the samples that we want to investigate and is willing to share them. Sometimes we find that the person who had the samples has retired, and they have been thrown away.

This situation stands in marked contrast to the availability of extraterrestrial and marine samples. For example, if we want to analyze marine samples, we request them from a repository, and in all likelihood we will be able to begin an investigation. The marine and cosmochemistry communities have long realized the pragmatic and the scientific benefits of open sample distribution and accept that samples are effectively public do main. This policy has been an important factor in the development of our knowledge of the Earth and the cosmos.

• Studies of archived marine samples, for example, have had a fundamental influence on the development of the plate tectonics paradigm and on our understanding of the Earth system over a range of disciplines, from marine geology and geophysics, to global climate change, to mantle dynamics.
• The availability of meteorites and lunar samples to the general cosmochemical community has facilitated fundamental advances in the understanding of the early history and the composition of the solar system and the Earth, and interstellar processes.

There are important historical reasons why marine, meteorite, and lunar samples are accessible to the general research community. Their collection requires obvious large-scale public expenditure. For most of these samples, re-collection is not a viable alternative. The need for a similar approach to terrestrial samples has not been as clear, because they are usually collected by individual or small groups of investigators. Yet it is a peculiar paradox that samples from the submerged flanks of ocean islands dredged aboard ship are public domain, while those from above the water line of the same island and collected with public money, are not.

The GERM initiative recognizes several pragmatic reasons to develop a more rational approach toward archiving and distribution of terrestrial samples.

• In terrestrial studies there is a large and increasing public investment in sampling and analyses.
• Terrestrial petrological and geochemical investigations are often global in scope and target samples from the far reaches of the Earth.
• Many important sample localities are difficult to access for logistical or political reasons.
• There are well-known cases where entire classic outcrops are destroyed or covered up by natural or human forces, thus precluding any chance to obtain new samples.
• Often, unique and important samples are lost at the end of a career or a large project.
• There are still far too few samples characterized for their petrology and a comprehensive suite of chemical and isotopic compositions.
• The new initiative comes during an exciting time in which new analytical developments are revolutionizing the field of geochemistry. Major advances in geochemistry often occur in tandem with new analytical developments, and classic samples or suites are often the first to be analyzed.

The practical need for a more public archival and distribution system is reflected in changing attitudes toward samples collected or studied with public funding. The absence of any general system of sample curation is a waste of national resources, and leads to inefficiencies in the development of our science. Implementation of efficient avenues for sample archival and distribution will invigorate the future development of terrestrial geochemistry. Funding agencies and reviewers are becoming increasingly receptive to the idea that samples should become a national heritage in to further scientific advances for investigators in multiple fields.

Many practical issues will have to be considered in order to implement this initiative efficiently and cost-effectively. Possible archival models range from enhancement of current museum and university collections, to establishment of additional repositories based on the marine model, to a decentralized system dependent on individual investigators. Common to any approach is a need to develop a central web-based information resource, and to build upon presently existing sample collections, such as those at the U.S. National Museum and the American Museum of Natural History. Criteria and procedures will have to be established to decide which samples should be archived. The implementation will require cooperation of funding agencies.

Conclusion

The GERM group is convinced that the change envisioned would have a revolutionary impact on the way terrestrial Earth Science is conducted. It would invigorate our science and enhance the rate of our scientific progress. It would deliver our community from an essentially feudal approach to one that befits the conduct of science in the twenty-first century. The first stage of implementation will be to organize a Working Group to evaluate the practical issues and propose a plan. Like GERM itself, the initiative will be an international one. On behalf of the organizers, we strongly encourage both participation and constructive feedback from members of the community.