Improving the Storage Conditions and Beginning Digitization of the Paleozoic Stratigraphic Fossil Collections at the Paleontological Research Institution

改善古生物研究所古生代地层化石藏品的储存条件并开始数字化

• 批准号: 2127427
• 负责人: Gregory Dietl
• 金额: $ 37.73万
• 依托单位: Paleontological Research Institute
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-09-15 至 2024-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2127427&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Improving; Storage; Conditions; Beginning; Digitization

This project will upgrade the physical storage and begin the long-term process of digitizing the Paleozoic stratigraphic fossil collections at the Paleontological Research Institution, which are currently in danger of physical deterioriation and data loss due to inadequate storage and lack of digitization. The Carl Brett and Gordon Baird Devonian collection will be upgraded to the highest curatorial standards and its associated data digitized and made more widely known and available online to the research community and general public. This collection documents the unique invertebrate fossil record of the Devonian, ~418 to 358 million years ago, of the northeastern United States, particularly New York, which is widely regarded as one of the most stratigraphically complete in the world. The project will greatly increase the accessibility and discoverability of these collections for studying a variety of important paleobiological topics, including: 1) community-level stasis and change, 2) niche evolution in response to major sea-level/ climatic change and invasion of new species, 3) morphological stasis, and 4) environmental change and evolution/ extinction of marine biotas. The project has two broader impact components: 1) construction of an online field guide to common New York fossils, and 2) development of a series of educational videos. These complementary resources will highlight both the geologic context and diversity of invertebrate fossils in the Brett and Baird Devonian collection.To ensure that the considerable research and educational value of the Brett and Baird Devonian collection is realized, this project will 1) upgrade the physical storage of the ~4,000 invertebrate fossil assemblage samples in the collection by moving them to a newly renovated climate-controlled facility, and 2) encourage use of the collection by digitizing and sharing records publicly online via data aggregators, such as the System for Earth Sample Registration and iDigBio. The project will also provide value-added geo-referenced data to the estimated 2,500 localities in the collection. Beyond improving the storage conditions and accessibility of the collection, this project will build on the Paleontological Research Institution’s strong history in developing free, online educational resources about paleontology and the fossil record. Specific outreach activities include creating a collection of five short (3-5 minute) videos with closed captioning for the public that will highlight the Brett and Baird Devonian collection. This series will be called “From the Field to the Cloud” and will detail the journey of an individual fossil as it travels through the steps from first discovery, to curation, to its final online representation in a publicly accessible online database. A new Devonian Atlas of Ancient Life will also be developed featuring at least 200 commonly encountered species from the Devonian fossil record of New York to help everyone from avocational collectors to museum professionals identify and learn more about fossils from the state.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

该项目将升级实物储存，并开始将古生物研究所的古生代地层化石收藏数字化的长期进程，由于储存不足和缺乏数字化，这些收藏目前面临实物损坏和数据丢失的危险。卡尔·布雷特和戈登·贝尔德的泥盆纪藏品将升级到最高的策展标准，其相关数据将数字化，并更广泛地为研究界和公众所知。该系列记录了美国东北部约4.18亿至3.58亿年前泥盆纪的独特无脊椎动物化石记录，特别是纽约，它被广泛认为是世界上地层最完整的地区之一。该项目将大大增加这些收藏品的可访问性和可复制性，用于研究各种重要的古生物学主题，包括：1）社区一级的停滞和变化，2）应对主要海平面/气候变化和新物种入侵的生态位进化，3）形态停滞，以及4）环境变化和海洋生物的进化/灭绝。该项目有两个更广泛的影响组成部分：1）建设一个在线现场指南，以共同的纽约化石，和2）开发一系列的教育视频。这些互补的资源将突出布雷特和贝尔德泥盆纪藏品中的地质背景和无脊椎动物化石的多样性。为了确保布雷特和贝尔德泥盆纪藏品的巨大研究和教育价值得以实现，本项目将1）升级~4，000无脊椎动物化石组合样本的收集，通过移动他们到一个新装修的气候控制设施，2）通过地球样本登记系统和iDigBio等数据聚合器，将记录数字化并在网上公开共享，鼓励使用收集的数据。该项目还将向收集的大约2 500个地点提供增值的地理参照数据。除了改善收藏品的储存条件和可访问性外，该项目还将建立在古生物学研究所在开发有关古生物学和化石记录的免费在线教育资源方面的强大历史基础上。具体的推广活动包括为公众制作一个五个短（3-5分钟）的视频集，其中将突出布雷特和贝尔德泥盆纪的收藏。该系列将被称为“从现场到云端”，并将详细介绍单个化石的旅程，因为它经历了从第一次发现，到策展，再到最终在公开访问的在线数据库中在线呈现的步骤。一个新的泥盆纪古代生命地图集也将被开发，包括至少200个常见的物种，从纽约的泥盆纪化石记录，以帮助每个人从avocabulary收藏家到博物馆专业人士识别和了解更多关于化石的国家。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得的支持，通过评估使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准。