Policies & Funding
The Lamont-Doherty Core Repository serves the national and international ocean research and teaching communities and receives funding from both the National Science Foundation and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. Our primary function is to provide for long-term storage and curation of geological materials. In addition, samples from cores and dredges, descriptions of cores and dredges, digital images and other cruise information from the collection at L-DEO are provided to scientific investigators upon receipt of requests. Materials for educational purposes and museum displays may also be made available in limited quantities where requests are adequately justified. Finally, we also provide analytical services that we charge at cost.
Space permitting, the Core Repository will accept cores collected by any scientist or ship assuming they are in good condition, have suitable metadata, and will be made available for scientific use. (We recommend PIs contact the curator to ensure that there is space for the deposition of field materials.) The Core Repository policies regarding PI and public access to cores and data are consistent with the NSF Earth Sciences Division data policy statement and the Ocean Sciences Division data and sample policy. Original PIs, their post-docs, and their students have an “exclusive-use period” of two years from the date of sample collection. Data generated from these cores are also subject to the same two-year period of exclusive use. “Active Phase” is used to denote NSF’s exclusive-use period, and “Archive Phase” refers to the period of time following the conclusion of the Active Phase. The Repository works closely with PIs to protect their intellectual and scientific interests in their own cores, as well as in archived cores, working within NSF guidelines. Once cores enter the Archive Phase, sample requests will be allowed (subject to the standard review process) and basic data, including the core descriptions, core images, geophysical logging data and accompanying metadata, will be made public.
The following policies apply to any NSF/OCE/MGG funded samples (refer to OCE Data Policy): All OCE/MGG collected samples must be deposited in MGG approved sample repositories (see OCE Data Policy for listing of available repositories). OCE/MGG samples deposited in the L-DEO Repository must be made publicly available within 2 years of collection (i.e., no later than). PIs collecting samples to be deposited in the L-DEO Repository need to submit full sample metadata, using NCEI (formerly NGDC) metadata logging sheets, within 60 days to the curator (refer to OCE Data Policy). The core metadata, only, must be uploaded to the online database at NCEI within 60 days of deposit at the L-DEO Repository. Any variation from above can only be approved by cognizant NSF program officer.
All users of material or data from the Lamont-Doherty Core Repository are expected to acknowledge the facility in their publications and presentations. In addition, we request that all users provide us with an electronic copy of any resulting publications. Citing NSF-funded community facilities in your acknowledgments helps to spread the word about the importance of our mission to the larger scientific community and the general public and helps justify our support by NSF.
Example: [Cores are archived at / Samples provided by] Lamont-Doherty Core Repository, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University.
(updated May 7, 2020)