Going with the flow: Publishing geochemical data from the lab workbench

<p>The award-winning Curtin University Digital Mineral Library pathfinder project published 150 geochemical datasets created by a TESCAN Integrated Mineral Analyser from samples provided by the Geological Survey of Western Australia. The focus of the project was creating the workflows and integrating the systems that would make such publication possible from the lab workbench with minimal manual intervention.</p> <p>Existing open source software and open standards were used wherever possible to build an agnostic ecosystem in which individual components could be replaced as necessary by discipline- or institute-specific solutions.</p> <p>In his presentation, Matthias will cover some of the challenges faced by the project team, including some of the lessons learned. He will also speak to the next phase of the project and some of the new research activity that has been stimulated by the publication of these open datasets.</p

Major Open Data: The Digital Mineral Library at Curtin University

<p>INTRODUCTION</p> <p>Curtin University has completed an Australian National Data Service (ANDS) funded Major Open Data Collection (MODC) project as a pathfinder to scan 150 of 2000 geochemical samples from the Geological Survey of Western Australia (GSWA). The resulting datasets have been published in Research Data Australia and the AuScope Discovery Portal.</p> <p>DESCRIPTION OF THE DATA COLLECTION</p> <p>The Digital Mineral Library consists of 150 datasets produced by an ARC-funded TESCAN Integrated Mineral Analyser (TIMA). The datasets have been catalogued using a linked open data approach. Each dataset has been allocated a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) and each physical sample an International Geo Sample Number (IGSN). The mineral samples have been prepared with embedded QR codes to facilitate easy linking between physical and digital data. A workflow integrates a laboratory information management system (LIMS) with the IGSN sample registry and TIMA automated mineralogy. Zircon, monazite, titanite, rutile, apatite and many other accessory minerals are rapidly identified (up to 20,000 grains/hour) and spatially registered for subsequent microprobe analysis</p> <p>SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE</p> <p>The architecture was previously described at eResearch Australasia 2014. The focus was on maximising the flow of metadata from system to system and minimising the workload for human operators. All components of the system (except instrument software) are free and open source. Open standards permits this architecture to be adapted to new components, such as adding new instruments or syndicating the data in new discovery portals. The architecture has been slightly modified since its initial planning due to system limitations.</p> <p>ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS</p> <p>This e-Research project was supported by the Australian National Data Service (ANDS) and AuScope through the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy Program. The hardware component of the project was funded via the Australian Research Council with support from Curtin University, GSWA, University of Western Australia and Murdoch University. This project was jointly run between the Curtin University Library, the John de Laeter Centre, and Curtin Information Technology Services.</p

Digital Mineral Library

<p>The John de Laeter Centre’s (JDLC’s) Digital Mineral Library is an innovative approach for researchers to seamlessly capture and disseminate data and metadata generated during the analysis of rock and mineral samples. The software and IT infrastructure to be installed in the Centre will enable the capture of analytical data from scientific instruments, and collect metadata from the researchers conducting the analysis. The data will be made accessible to the AuScope Discovery Portal, which in turn will make it accessible to public users. The system will provide metadata to Research Data Australia (RDA) and to the AuScope Discovery Portal.</p> <p> </p

20160610 - ANDS - Monthly Tech Talk - Minting DOIs for Data.pptx

A description of how the John de Laeter Centre manage the minting of DOIs for both data and samples.<br

Management and curation of rock samples in a geochronology lab: Linking physical samples to data,John de Lateter Centre Digital Mineral Library Project

Talk presented to eResearch Australasia 2016, Wednesday 12 October 2016 entitled "Management and curation of rock samples in a Geochronology Lab: Linking physical samples to data, John de Laeter (JdLC) Digital Mineral Library Project". The talk reports on research projects at the JdLC, Curtin University, Western Australia to develop a Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) to capture, store, manage and share geochemical analyses related to geochronology using two of the instruments housed at the (TIMA - a type of SEM-EDA used to determine the mineral composition of rock samples and a SHRIMP - a secondary ion mass spectrometer used to measure uranium and lead isotope concentrations in minerals)