Continuing Operations Proposal: The United States Polar Rock Repository as a Research Tool for Understanding Antarctica's Geological Evolution

极地地区的地质实地考察在后勤上困难，经济上昂贵，而且可能对原始地区产生重大的环境影响。南极洲裸露的岩石露头很少，98%被冰覆盖，这使得以前收集的岩石样本对科学界非常有价值。美国极地岩石库(PRR)于2003年在俄亥俄州立大学建立，以满足保存极地地区岩石、挖泥船和陆地岩心样本的需求。PRR管理主要从南极洲和南大洋收集的地质样本，并通过机构和科学家的捐赠获得这些收藏品。PRR的存在使以高昂财务成本收集的样本能够充分发挥其科学潜力。目前，有超过4万个样品可供免费借阅，用于研究、教育和博物馆展品。除了实物样本外，PRR还从收集者那里归档支持材料，如样本图像、现场地图、航空照片、薄片和任何相关的书目/DOI。科学家、研究生和本科生经常在他们的研究项目中使用来自PRR的样本。PRR还免费向美国各地的K-12教师借出一个有教育意义的“岩石盒子”，里面有代表性的岩石、化石和矿物样本、关于地质学和南极洲的书籍和活动。PRR提供极地岩石样本收集和元数据的管理。它是为数不多的允许破坏性研究技术用于样品的出借岩石储存库之一。PRR网站和内部数字元数据档案提供了数据的全球传播，也是试点研究、提案编写和实地后勤规划的独特资源。PRR履行了南极研究科学委员会(SCAR)、南极数据管理(2009)关于免费、充分和开放地获取元数据和资料集的指令。在接下来的5年里，PRR将与研究界积极合作，获取具有科学价值的岩石收藏和补充材料，以加强PRR收藏。样品将按照标准的馆藏做法进行编目，并将通过伯德极地气候和研究中心开发的面向公众的收藏管理系统部分进行发现。保存这些物理样品，以及存档相关的元数据，并将DOI？S纳入可发现的在线数据库，使极地科学研究具有透明度和可重复性。藏品管理系统将继续更新和改进。馆长将通过出席会议、创建网络研讨会并就该设施的新收藏品与科学家联系，继续提高PRR的可发现性。研究资源中心将继续提供样品，并加强与其他储存库和数据管理实体的联系，以更好地开展跨学科研究。针对K-12学校的教育推广活动将继续进行，美国学校将免费使用“极地摇滚盒”。

Geological field expeditions in polar regions are logistically difficult, financially expensive, and can have a significant environmental impact on pristine regions.  The scarcity of exposed rock outcrop in Antarctica, which is 98% ice-covered, makes previously collected rock samples very valuable to the science community. The U.S. Polar Rock Repository (PRR) was established at the Ohio State University in 2003 to meet the need for preserving rock, dredge, and terrestrial core samples from polar areas. The PRR curates geological samples collected primarily from Antarctica and the southern oceans and acquires these collections through donations from institutions and scientists. The existence of the PRR allows samples collected at a high financial cost to be used to their full scientific potential. Currently more than 40,000 samples are available as no-cost loans for research, education, and museum exhibits. In addition to the physical samples, the PRR archives supporting materials from the collector, such as images of the samples, field maps, air photos, thin sections, and any associated bibliography/DOIs. Scientists, graduate students, and undergraduate students routinely use samples from the PRR for their research projects. The PRR also freely loans an educational 'rock box' that contains representative rock, fossil and mineral samples, books and activities about geology and Antarctica to K-12 teachers from across the United States. The PRR provides stewardship of polar rock sample collections and metadata. It is one of the few lending rock repositories to allow destructive research techniques to be used on samples. The PRR website and in-house digital metadata archive provides for global dissemination of data and also a unique resource for pilot studies, proposal preparation and field logistics planning. The PRR fulfills the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), Antarctic Data Management (2009) directive of providing free, full and open access to metadata and collections. Over the course of the next 5 years, the PRR will work proactively with the research community to acquire scientifically valuable rock collections and supplementary materials that will enhance the PRR collection. Samples will be cataloged following standard curatorial practices and will be made discoverable through the public facing portion of the Collections Management system developed at the Byrd Polar Climate and Research Center. The preservation of these physical samples, along with archiving of associated metadata, and inclusion of DOI?s in a discoverable online database, allows for transparency and reproducibility in polar earth science research. The Collections Management System will continue to be updated and improved. The Curator will continue to advance the discoverability of the PRR by attending meetings, creating a webinar and contacting scientists about new collections at the facility. The PRR will continue to fulfill loans of samples and enhance the links with other respositories and data management entities to better enable interdisciplinary research. Educational outreach to K-12 schools will continue with the 'polar rock box' being freely available to US schools.