Standards

Editor's Roundtable at Goldschmidt 2007

August 21, 2007

Journal editors and representatives gathered at the 2007 Goldschmidt Conference in Cologne, Germany to discuss data reporting policies. The group has agreed to develop a policy document on how data should be reported in journal articles. A second editor's roundtable will convene at Goldschmidt 2008 in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Geochemical Society Policy on Geochemical Databases

The Geochemical Society has released a white paper document that supports open access to data and discusses the role of geochemical databases in data preservation and the advancement of research. Download the Geochemical Socitey policy document PDF (128KB).

Reporting of Geochemical Data and Metadata Working Group

April 2, 2007, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Palisades, NY

The Working Group "Reporting of Geochemical Data and Metadata" established by EarthChem to begin defining recommendations regarding formats for data reporting in publications and for data submission to databases met recently with the goal of:

(a) standardizing data reporting in publications and digital data collections to ensure availability and completeness of information relevant to the evaluation and long-term usability of geochemical data

(b) improving the efficiency with which geochemical data and relevant metadata can be included in geochemical databases.

Members of the working group are Drew Coleman (UNC), Steve Goldstein (LDEO), Rick Murray (BU), Vincent Salters (FSU), Frank Spear (RPI), Hubert Staudigel (UCSD), and Jeff Vervoort (WSU).
Download the recommendations of the working group (148KB)

Drafts of Excel-formatted spreadseets are now available for download for reporting of Sample Metadata and Bulk Elemental, Bulk Isotope, in situ Elemental Analyses (e.g., electron microprobe), and in situ Isotope Analyses (e.g. ion microprobe).
Please note that these forms are drafts and are currently under review.
We welcome your comments and suggestions.

Sample Metadata (XLS 216KB)
Bulk Elemental Analyses (XLS 260KB)
Bulk Isotope Analyses (XLS 260KB)
in situ Elemental Analyses (XLS 268KB)
in situ Isotope Analyses (XLS 260KB)

Each spreadsheet contains worksheets for input of:

Data
Primary Analytical Metadata
Secondary Analytical Metadata

GeoEarthScope and EarthChem - EarthTime Effort

April 9, 2007, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS

EarthChem held two workshops in Spring 2007 to discuss standards for reporting of geochronological data, as EarthChem has been identified to become the home for geochronology data collected in association with GeoEarthScope. EarthChem will provide data management, storing and serving geochronological data submitted by participating facitlities generating the geochronological data. The first workshop that took place on April 9, 2007, in Lawrence, KS, focused on U-Pb geochronology in connection with the EarthTime effort. The second workshop took place on May 10, 2007, also in Lawrence, KS, and focused on (U-Th)/He Geo/Thermochronology.
To download the workshop report visit the Community page.