IGSNs are going to change syntax from a 3 digit namespace to a 5 digit namespace (user code), starting with IE (For IEDA, Integrated Earth Data Applications, the facility that oversees SESAR²). This change will accommodate the expansion of IGSN, through the IGSN e.V., to more allocating agents around the world.

A new user will still choose a 3-digit alphanumeric namespace (user code), for example ABC, and their IGSNs will be of the form: IEABC0001, where the first 5 digits are the full namespace and the last 4 digits are alphanumeric. This will give users 36^4 possible IGSNs, or over 1.5 million IGSNs.

This change will not affect existing IGSNs or namespaces (user codes), but will change all namespaces (user codes) and IGSNs allocated by SESAR² in the future.

If you are interested in becoming part of the SESAR² power users group, with access to new features in development, reply to info@54.224.199.193.

Recent Change to New SESAR² Namespaces (User Codes)

Online papers in Science Direct link directly to sample metadata profiles in SESAR², making all of the metadata about the sample quickly available. When submitting a paper to Elsevier, tables with column headers “IGSN” or text with the prefix “IGSN:” will be identified and linked directly to geosamples.org. For more information please see the International Geo Sample Number section in Elsevier’s Guide for Authors.

Dere et al., 2013, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (Table 2)

We are delighted to highlight the ongoing cooperation with IEDA by announcing the first published papers with linked International Geo Sample Numbers (IGSN). Take a look at Table 2 of this Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta paper where you can click on specific IGSN numbers and be taken directly to the sample profile held in the SESAR² sample metadata catalog at geosamples.org. By setting up links between databases and published papers, data is more accessible and discoverable, which benefits all researchers in the field.

Link your paper with IGSN and make your data more accessible and discoverable

Thanks to everyone who participated in the DESC (Digital Environment for Sample Curation) Webinar. The materials are posted on this page.

Introduction to DESC, Digital Environment for Sample Curation (Kerstin Lehnert)

Cyberinfrastructure Needs of the U.S. Core and Sample Repositories (Anthony Koppers)

State Geological Surveys: Capabilities and Needs (Lee Allison)

Development Considerations for DESC (Jeff Heard and Mary Whitton, RENCI)

From Sarah Timm (Virginia Museum of Natural History)Q: I developed a program called EGEMS specifically for cataloging geological materials including but not limited to rocks, minerals, research products, etc and I am wondering if there is any room for collaboration. I agree with everything you have said about the importance of preserving our collections and increasing their accessibility and I spent my master’s thesis at Virginia Tech researching and developing a potential solution to this growing need. This was shortly before EarthCube was developed and the only programs for recording data for geological materials were very expensive and designed for large museums. I have given talks at GSA these past few years and have touched on almost all of the topics you have in this talk. I would very much like to be a larger part of this initiative, can you tell me if and how this might be possible? Thank you.
Information about EGEMS and screenshots of the program can be viewed at www.egemsinfo.comA: Yes, please contact us at info@54.224.199.193 if you would like to take on a collaborative role. Another great way to participate is to fill out the DESC survey about data management and sample curation challenges.

From Ramona Walls (University of Arizona)Q: I am involved in an effort to develop an ontology for biological collections (http://code.google.com/p/bco/). One goal is to allow linking of data that is annotated with existing standards such as Darwin Core or MIxS. This is going hand in hand with other efforts, for example, to develop standard identifiers for biological specimens. The motivations were almost identical to what you have described for earth science collections during the first two talks. Many of the ontology design patterns we are developing for describing biological samples could be translated directly into earth science samples. It would be great to coordinate the efforts across our communities. Anyone who would like to contact us can use the mailing list at https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!forum/bco-discuss.

DESC Repository Survey: We need your help in gathering requirements for DESC. Please, tell us about your data management and sample curation challenges.

Sign up for the community mailing list for DESC, SESAR², and IGSN

Please send any questions or comments to info@54.224.199.193.

DESC webinar video, presentations, and Q&A

Join our Introducing SESAR "2.0" Webinar

We’re thrilled to announce that SESAR “2.0” and our new website are officially live. This release is the biggest update to SESAR since its 2004 founding, with new and improved functionality and UI.

Our new guide provides more information on how to use SESAR and documents our updated vocabularies and metadata schema. 

If you want to get familiar and practice registering samples, please use our sandbox. These samples will not be officially registered and can be used as your personal scratch space.

As part of our revamp, all users are now subscribed to a user listserv. We will be sending periodic emails to our users with system updates and notifications. 

Additionally, we have two webinar sessions to showcase these upgrades:

To sign up for the webinar, please fill out this form. Once you do, we will send a calendar invite. 

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us at info@geosamples.org.

Thank you,
SESAR Team

Introducing SESAR "2.0" and Webinars Dates

If you run into any issues or have feedback, please reach out to info@geosamples.org. Be sure to join one of our webinar sessions Introducing SESAR "2.0" on October 8th and 9th!

MySESAR is now live!

The Index to Marine and Lacustrine Geological Samples (IMLGS) that has been developed and maintained by NOAA’s NCEI, has been decommissioned and will no longer be accessible on the NCEI web site starting May 5, 2025. In order to ensure continued access and updates to the IMLGS, SESAR and NCEI have agreed that SESAR will take over stewardship of this resource. SESAR staff is working with NCEI and the marine and lacustrine repository community to ensure persistence of this valuable resource. 

SESAR is planning a phased approach to continuing the services of the IMLGS: 

Phase Ia (completed December 1, 2025): Provide access to the current content of the IMLGS. SESAR will create a user interface for searching the current IMLGS and displaying search results. The priority is to make the contents of the IMLGS accessible again as quickly as possible and minimize downtime after the May 5 shutdown of NCEI-based Interactive Map Tool.

Phase Ib (completed February 10, 2026): SESAR has assumed management of the IMLGS Curators Listserv, previously hosted by NCEI. This listserv is an unmoderated forum for discussion and announcements related to the Curators group and Index to Marine and Lacustrine Geological Samples (IMLGS) database. To join the listserv, request to join here (log in to a Google email account first, or email info@geosamples.org to be manually added to the list): https://groups.google.com/a/geosamples.org/g/imlgs

Phase II (in progress, requires additional funding): Fully integrate the IMLGS services with SESAR. SESAR is starting to work with NCEI and contributing sample repositories to understand their needs and desires for a streamlined data ingest process and user needs for search. Based on these needs and desires, we will generate an implementation plan and try to identify sources of funding to perform the necessary technical developments.

Please note that much of the IMLGS data remains accessible also via GeoMapApp here.

We are grateful for the many notes of support we have received from the community reiterating the importance of the IMLGS resource and expressing gratitude to SESAR for helping to steward this resource in the future. We thank the community for your continued support and patience with this transition. 

If you have questions or comments, please reach out to us at info@geosamples.org.

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Link your paper with IGSN and make your data more accessible and discoverable

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