SMITHSONIAN ROCK AND ORE COLLECTIONS, 1955-56 AND 2005-06: AQUISITIONS AND LOANS 50 YEARS AGO, TODAY AND 50 YEARS HENCE

SORENSEN, S. S., HALE, L. J., HEARN, B. C. Jr, and COTTRELL, E., Mineral Sciences, Smithsonian Institution, PO Box 37012, National Museum of Natural History MRC-119, Washington, DC 20013-7012, sorensen@si.edu

The Smithsonian's Rock and Ore Collections consists of ~270,000 specimen lots; accession records date to 1858. Rock and ore specimens have been curated separately from meteorites, minerals and gems since 1881. Data for collection acquisitions and loans yield information about trends in petrology, geochemistry and volcanology, as interpreted by 7 curators through 126 years. Compared to 1955-1956, today's subcollections are larger. More are topical, rather than geographically targeted, and emphasize analyzed materials useful for future research. In 1955-1956, about 500 specimens were acquired per annum; now, annual growth is 1000-3000 specimens. In 1956, the largest new subcollection was 78 rocks collected by William F. Foshag in California and Nevada in 1929. It consists of B ores, sedimentary and volcanic rocks. In 2005, Hatten Yoder's posthumous gift of melilite-bearing rocks totaled 418 specimens, solicited from colleagues to build a collection of Earth's melilite parageneses. Although cataloging of these materials is incomplete, Howard Wilshire's and F.R. Boyd's collections contain over 5000 well-studied mantle xenoliths. Collections are managed electronically, although a written catalog is also maintained. Research loans are our first priority—even unaccessioned specimens are available for study and loans, which are transacted world-wide. Curators do less collecting based on personal interests; instead, they search for scientifically valuable collections (e.g., Earth's mantle, active volcanoes, ore deposits and meteorite impacts). Short-term future goals include a web-based relational database to facilitate queries and sample requests, and cross-reference other databases. By combining growth with increased scientific curation, current curators hope to both build holdings and increase the scientific value of the Smithsonian's rock and ore specimens.

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Abstract ID#: 128970
Meeting: 2007 GSA Denver Annual Meeting (28–31 October 2007)
Session Type: Topical/Theme
Selection: T87 A Retrospective and Prospective Look at Mineralogy, Petrology, and Geochemistry: A Session in Honor of Gordon E. Brown, Jr.
Title: SMITHSONIAN ROCK AND ORE COLLECTIONS, 1955-56 AND 2005-06: AQUISITIONS AND LOANS 50 YEARS AGO, TODAY AND 50 YEARS HENCE
Key Words: rock collections, data management, aquisitions, loans, specimen data
Presentation Format: Oral
Based on International Research: No
Discipline Categories: Petrology, Igneous, Petrology, Metamorphic (Ungraded)

First Author

Presenting
S. S. Sorensen
Mineral Sciences, Smithsonian Institution
PO Box 37012
National Museum of Natural History MRC-119
Washington, DC 20013-7012
Office Phone: 202 633 1820
Fax Number: 202 357 2476
Email: sorensen@si.edu

Second Author

L. J. Hale
Mineral Sciences, Smithsonian Institution
PO Box 37012
National Museum of Natural History MRC-119
Washington, DC 20013-7012
Email: halel@si.edu

Third Author

B. C. Hearn Jr
Mineral Sciences, Smithsonian Institution
PO Box 37012
National Museum of Natural History MRC-119
Washington, DC 20013-7012
Email: chearn@usgs.gov

Fourth Author

E. Cottrell
Mineral Sciences, Smithsonian Institution
PO Box 37012
National Museum of Natural History MRC-119
Washington, DC 20013-7012
Email: cottrelle@si.edu