Integration and Enhancement of the Antarctic Collection at the Museum of Texas Tech University

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This award, provided by the Antarctic Geology and Geophysics Program of the Office of Polar Programs, provides funds for the unification and upgrading of its Antarctic collection; its proper storage and curation; development of an electronic database; and network access. This award will support a collection manager for two years, installing modern, archival-quality steel cabinets, and rehousing, conserving, and barcoding the entire collection. These changes will vastly increase the availability and research potential of a significant and unique Antarctic collection, and they will help to preserve a rich cultural, historical, and scientific legacy. The Antarctic collection constitutes one of the best repositories of archival, geological and paleontological holdings in the nation. The archival collection was amassed over a fifty-year span and contains maps and rare books in addition to Antarctic research samples. The comprehensive igneous and metamorphic rock collection gathered from the orogenic belts of Queen Maud Range, Marie Byrd Land, and Ellsworth Land is important for understanding the paleotectonic evolution of the Transantarctic Mountains and West Antarctica. The paleontological collection includes exquisite plant fossils from the Allan Hills, which indicate a Gondwanian heritage for Antarctica. Several holotypes of Cretaceous vertebrates from Seymour Island, including Polarornis, the oldest known Antarctic bird, provide additional evidence for high latitude heterochroneity.