A Synthesis Center for Paleoenvironmental Records of Extreme Events (2026)
Chapter: Appendix B: U.S.-Based Repositories of Paleoenvironmental Data
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Appendix B
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Suggested Citation:
"Appendix B: U.S.-Based Repositories of Paleoenvironmental Data." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2026. A Synthesis Center for Paleoenvironmental Records of Extreme Events. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
doi: 10.17226/29290.
Appendix B
U.S.-Based Repositories of Paleoenvironmental Data
This appendix serves as an illustrative list of existing repositories in the United States that house physical paleoenvironmental samples. Table B-1 highlights the vast number of existing physical repositories, their disparate locations, the funding landscape of these repositories, and the types of physical samples that are housed in each repository. This table also shows gaps in centralized repositories for specific archive types like corals, speleothems, and tree rings, many of which are held in university faculty collections.
Suggested Citation:
"Appendix B: U.S.-Based Repositories of Paleoenvironmental Data." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2026. A Synthesis Center for Paleoenvironmental Records of Extreme Events. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
doi: 10.17226/29290.
TABLE B-1 U.S.-Based Physical Repositories of Paleoenvironmental Records
| U.S.-Based Geologic Sample Repositories | Sample Access Info Available | Funding | Collections | Marine Sediments and Rocks | Terrestrial and Lake Sediments | Tree Rings | Corals | Speleothems | Ice Cores | Hosting Institution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Byrd Ice Core Facilities | Yes | Multisource | Regional | X | Ohio State University | |||||
| Continental Scientific Drilling University of Minnesota | Yes | NSF | Global | X | University of Minnesota | |||||
| Gulf Coast Repository* | Yes | NSF | Global | X | X | Texas A&M University | ||||
| Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research | Yes | Multisource | Global | X | University of Arizona | |||||
| Lamont-Doherty Core Repository | Yes | NSF | Global | X | X | X | Columbia University | |||
| Marine and Geology Repository at Oregon State University | Yes | NSF | Global | X | X | Oregon State University | ||||
| Mississippi Embayment Research Center | Yes | Multisource | Regional | X | University of Memphis |
Suggested Citation:
"Appendix B: U.S.-Based Repositories of Paleoenvironmental Data." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2026. A Synthesis Center for Paleoenvironmental Records of Extreme Events. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
doi: 10.17226/29290.
| U.S.-Based Geologic Sample Repositories | Sample Access Info Available | Funding | Collections | Marine Sediments and Rocks | Terrestrial and Lake Sediments | Tree Rings | Corals | Speleothems | Ice Cores | Hosting Institution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSF-Ice Core Facility | Yes | NSF | Regional | X | USGS-Denver | |||||
| Polar Rock Repository, Ohio State University | Yes | NSF | Global | X | X | Ohio State University | ||||
| Rutgers Core Repository | Yes | Multisource | Regional | X | X | Rutgers University | ||||
| Scripps Oceanographic Collections | Yes | Multisource | Global | X | University of San Diego | |||||
| University of Hawai’i SOEST Geological Sample Facility | Yes | Unfunded | Global | X | University of Hawai’i | |||||
| University of Rhode Island Marine Geologic Samples Lab | Yes | NSF | Global | X | X | University of Rhode Island | ||||
| USGS Astrogeology Science Center | Yes | USGS | Regional | X | USGS Astrogeology Science Center |
Suggested Citation:
"Appendix B: U.S.-Based Repositories of Paleoenvironmental Data." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2026. A Synthesis Center for Paleoenvironmental Records of Extreme Events. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
doi: 10.17226/29290.
| U.S.-Based Geologic Sample Repositories | Sample Access Info Available | Funding | Collections | Marine Sediments and Rocks | Terrestrial and Lake Sediments | Tree Rings | Corals | Speleothems | Ice Cores | Hosting Institution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USGS Core Research Center | Yes | USGS | Regional | X | X | USGS-Denver | ||||
| USGS Mercury Core Library and Data Center | Yes | USGS | Regional | X | USGS Nevada National Security Site | |||||
| USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center in Santa Cruz, California | Yes | USGS | Regional | X | X | USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center | ||||
| USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center | Yes | USGS | Regional | X | X | USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center |
Suggested Citation:
"Appendix B: U.S.-Based Repositories of Paleoenvironmental Data." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2026. A Synthesis Center for Paleoenvironmental Records of Extreme Events. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
doi: 10.17226/29290.
| U.S.-Based Geologic Sample Repositories | Sample Access Info Available | Funding | Collections | Marine Sediments and Rocks | Terrestrial and Lake Sediments | Tree Rings | Corals | Speleothems | Ice Cores | Hosting Institution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USGS Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center’s Samples Repository | Yes | USGS | Regional | X | X | USGS Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center | ||||
| State Geologic Surveys | Variable | State | State | Various | Variable | |||||
| University Faculty Collections | Variable | Multisource | Global | Various | Variable | |||||
| Museum Collections | Variable | Multisource | Global | Various | Variable | |||||
NOTE: * NSF-owned Scientific Ocean Drilling cores also stored at Bremen Core Repository, University of Bremen, in Bremen, Germany, and Kochi Core Center, Kochi University, in Kochi, Japan. NSF = National Science Foundation and USGS = U.S. Geological Survey.
SOURCE: Committee generated.
Suggested Citation:
"Appendix B: U.S.-Based Repositories of Paleoenvironmental Data." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2026. A Synthesis Center for Paleoenvironmental Records of Extreme Events. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
doi: 10.17226/29290.
Suggested Citation:
"Appendix B: U.S.-Based Repositories of Paleoenvironmental Data." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2026. A Synthesis Center for Paleoenvironmental Records of Extreme Events. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
doi: 10.17226/29290.
Suggested Citation:
"Appendix B: U.S.-Based Repositories of Paleoenvironmental Data." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2026. A Synthesis Center for Paleoenvironmental Records of Extreme Events. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
doi: 10.17226/29290.
Suggested Citation:
"Appendix B: U.S.-Based Repositories of Paleoenvironmental Data." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2026. A Synthesis Center for Paleoenvironmental Records of Extreme Events. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
doi: 10.17226/29290.
Suggested Citation:
"Appendix B: U.S.-Based Repositories of Paleoenvironmental Data." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2026. A Synthesis Center for Paleoenvironmental Records of Extreme Events. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
doi: 10.17226/29290.
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