LacCoreLacCoreNational Lacustrine Core FacilityNational Lacustrine Core Facility

Anders Noren, Curator

StaffCurator: Anders NorenLab Manager: Amy Myrbo Assistant Curator: Kristina BradyTechnicians: 5 to 15 (unsalaried)

Director: Emi ItoCo-PI: Steve Colman, Director,

LLO, DuluthEAG: 7 membersFunding: NSF-IF; University of

Minnesota

9th Year

•Facilities & equipment driven by Global Lake Drilling/GLAD program

• Adapt to needs of all projects at all scales• Support all phases of research

• Recognize differing needs/expectations

Components

1. Planning2. Field3. Core processing/Initial Core

Description4. Sample prep/Analysis5. Archiving

Components1. PLANNING for all project

phasesa. Budgetb. Timec. Equipment and supplies

needsd. Shippinge. Trainingf. Analytical possibilitiesg. Curation

Components1. Planning2. FIELD

a. Equipment rentalb. Equipment training,

operationc. Supplies (core liner, etc.)d. Core handlinge. Core storagef. Core transport

Field Equipment1.Surface cores: push, gravity, freeze, Hongve,

Eckman dredge2.Long cores: Kullenberg, Livingstone (with or

without single-use liner modification), Mackereth, Nesje, vibracorer

3.Vessels: 18-foot row/motorboat, 4 canoes, two Carolina Skiff boats for Kullenberg (23-foot tower), pontoon, cataraft, innertube. (All moonpooled)

4.GPR5.Water sampling and analysis6.Climate-controlled shipping container7.Two 4x4 trucks

Components1. Planning2. Field3. CORE PROCESSING / ICD

a. Multisensor loggingi. gamma densityii. acoustic velocityiii. electrical resistivityiv. magnetic susceptibility

(loop and high-resolution point sensors)

v. natural gamma radiation

Components1. Planning2. Field3. CORE PROCESSING / ICD

a. Multisensor loggingb. High-resolution digital

imaging

Components1. Planning2. Field3. CORE PROCESSING / ICD

a. Multisensor loggingb. High-resolution digital

imagingc. Description

i. macro-scale: color, texture, structureii. micro-scale: mineralogical and biological components

CoreWallCoreWall

Components1. Planning2. Field3. Core processing/ICD4. SAMPLE PREP/ANALYSIS

a.Dedicated stations for each analysis

b.Technicians available

Services / Stations / Equipment• Smear slides

• Sampling• LOI• Carbon coulometry• Sulfur coulometry• Biogenic silica• Grain size• Pollen prep• XRD prep• Thin section prep

• Isotope prep• Diatom prep• AMS 14C prep• Charcoal prep• Centrifuges• Drying ovens• Desiccators • Fume hoods• Microscopes: pollen,

diatom, petrographic, binocular

ITRAX XRF core scannerX-radiographyLLO

Components1. Planning2. Field3. Core processing/ICD4. Sample prep/Analysis5. ARCHIVING

a. Physical curation: storage, labeling

b. Metadata / database management

c. Sample preservation / management

d. Depth scale generatione. Sampling

Collection• 2,400 holes• 11,500 m of core (stored at

LacCore)• 8,900 m drill cores• 2,600 m short cores (+freeze,

permafrost)

Future: • Hominid Sites and Paleolakes

Drilling Project (Ethiopia): 1000m?

• Billions of small projects• Accession old collections

3320 ft2 / 310 m2

Data Repository• Store metadata / data for cores

stored at other institutions• Rapid assessment of previous work

done in a geographical region, or on a proxy

• Sample access• Simplify transition to permanent

storage

DatabaseFileMaker Pro• Stores metadata for expeditions,

holes, cores, sections, samples; analytical data

• Mathematically corrects depth scale for gaps and gas expansion

• Provides multiple uniform corrected depth scales for all samples/analyses

DIS / ICDP…working on a new system:

consistent; fast; online

Online table,

.csv, .kml

• Perform multisensor logging prior to user arrival or after departure

• Train visitors in equipment operation, core description

• Provide workshops, short courses• Sell supplies/equipment (field, lab,

curatorial) at cost• Produce recipes/SOPs, distribute on

web

Other Services

Costs / Fees

• field equipment rental• shipping• sampling• sample prep / analysis• supplies

StatsVISITORS: 1200 visits per year (200

unique)

CONTACTS: 4000 contacts per year (500 unique)( US, Canada, Mexico, Europe)

CORES: 1500m per year / 1000m archived

SAMPLES: 10,000-12,000 per year• more requests / small batches• greater use of online resources for

discovery

Project 1: Student

• Graduate student from UC-Berkeley• 12m of Holocene core from remote lake

in British Columbia• Advisor experienced in coring,

processing; student needed training in ICD

• Minimal local facilities: MSCL, linescan cameras, scope camera, sample prep

• Shipped cores to Minneapolis, spent five days

• Archived half of each core

Project 2: Faculty

• Geomorphologist from Macalester College

• Use new methods to measure past glacier fluctuations with lake sediment

• No experience with cores• One staff assisted throughout project• 20m of core analyzed and archived

Project 3: El’gygytgyn• Major international expedition:

~50 people from US, Germany, Russia, Canada

Camp

Ice road

Doubled ice thickness to

increase load capacity

120 miles from nearest roadAll materials hauled overland

No crane? No problem!

Platform base

Platform walls

Storm

• 400m sediment; 110m impact rock• 3.6Myr climate record

LacCore: field curation; permanent archiving