January 2011

Geological samples collected as part of the U.S. Extended Continental Shelf (ECS) Project will be registered with SESAR² and will receive IGSNs, as outlined in the U.S. ECS Policy for Data, Publications, and Physical Samples. SESAR² is working with the data management team of the U.S. Extended Continental Shelf (ECS) Project at the National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) to develop an ISO standard based metadata template for geologic bottom sample information that will meet the needs for the U.S. ECS efforts and for the UNOLS and IODP requirements. The template will be developed under the leadership of the ECS data management team at NGDC and in coordination with LDEO as the academic lead and will align with data description standards in use for both the SESAR² and IODP efforts.

The U.S. Extended Continental Shelf (ECS) Project is a multi-agency collaboration whose goals are to determine and define the extent of the U.S. continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles (nm).