Collections Improvement for Paleobotany at the Denver Museum of Natural History

丹佛自然历史博物馆古植物学藏品改进

• 批准号: 9509619
• 负责人: Kirk Johnson
• 金额: $ 12.26万
• 依托单位: Denver Museum of Nature and Science
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1995
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1995-09-01 至 1998-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9509619&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collections; Improvement; Paleobotany; Denver; Museum

The paleobotanical collection at the Denver Museum of Natural History (DMNH) is an important national and regional resource for research on the nature of vegetation and climate in the Western Interior of North America. There are approximately 26,000 specimens in the collection including four type specimens and a number of significant assemblages from the Late Cretaceous, Paleocene, and Eocene. Highlights include superb collections from Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary sections in North America and New Zealand. Most of the collection (89%) has been amassed since 1991 and, as such, is associated with precise and reliable locality and stratigraphic data. This collection represents the fourth largest collection of Late Cretaceous and Early Tertiary plant fossils form the Western Interior, and the only such collection located in the Western Interior. Since 1991, the Department of Earth Sciences (DES) at DMNH has had a commitment to the acquisition, storage, and study of paleobotanical specimens. In 1991, a full-time courator was hired and since then the Museum has supported research, fieldwork, collections management, and collections storage. In the past four years, nearly 24,000 specimens have been added to the collection, and nearly 3,000 specimens have been catalogued and housed in steel cabinets. In addition to Paleobotany Curator, the Department has a Vertebrate Paleontology Curator, a Collections Manager, two Preparators, and a Registrar who are devoted to work on the paleobotanical and vertebrate fossil collections. Although recent DMNH support has improved the condition of the collection considerably, approximately 78 percent of the collection remains housed in cardboard boxes, and all of the collection is stored in an inadequate space behind exhibit dioramas. The collection is presently at risk form water damage and access-related handling problems. In 1993, DES received a grant form the NSF to improve its collection of vertebrate fossils. This grant is nearing completion and most of the vertebrate fossils will soon be archivally stored and accessible. Rearrangement of DES storage space due to the installation of vertebrate fossil compactors and the acquisition of new space presents an opportunity to build an adjacent compactor unit for fossil plants. This project will assist in housing the paleobotanical collection in steel cabinets in a compactor system. The goal of this effort is to preserve the collection so that it is available for research and to allow for continued growth of the collection. Primary needs are for steel cabinets and drawers, a compactor system, and additional personnel to label and move the specimens.

丹佛自然历史博物馆（DMNH）的古植物收藏是北美西部内部植被和气候性质的重要国家和地区资源。 该系列中大约有26,000个标本，其中包括四种类型的标本和来自白垩纪晚期，古新世和始新世的许多重要组合。 亮点包括来自北美和新西兰白垩纪 - 第三纪边界部分的精湛收藏。 自1991年以来，大多数集合（89％）已积累，因此与精确可靠的地方和地层数据有关。 该系列代表了晚期和早期三级植物化石的第四大收藏，形成了西部内部，也是唯一位于西部内部的藏品。 自1991年以来，DMNH的地球科学系（DES）一直致力于对古植物标本的获取，存储和研究。 1991年，雇用了一名全职corator，从那时起，博物馆支持研究，现场工作，收集管理和收藏存储。 在过去的四年中，该系列添加了近24,000个标本，并将近3,000个标本分类并安装在钢柜中。 除古植物学策展人外，该部门还设有脊椎动物古生物学策展人，一名收藏经理，两个准备者和一名专门从事古植物学和脊椎动物化石收藏的注册服务商。 尽管最近的DMNH支持已大大改善了该系列的状况，但大约78％的藏品仍存放在纸板箱中，并且所有系列都存储在展览diaramas后面的不足空间中。 该系列目前处于危险中，形成了水损坏和与访问有关的处理问题。 1993年，DES收到了NSF的赠款表格，以改善其收集的脊椎动物化石。 这笔赠款即将完成，大多数脊椎动物化石将很快被存档且可访问。 由于安装了脊椎动物化石压缩机和新空间的收购，DES存储空间的重新排列为建造相邻的化石植物压实单元提供了机会。 该项目将有助于将古植物收藏集中在紧凑型系统中的钢柜中。 这项工作的目的是保留收藏品，以便可以进行研究并允许持续增长。 主要需求是用于钢柜和抽屉，压实机系统以及额外的人员来标记和移动标本。