PETLAB Database

PETLAB

PETLAB Database

FAQ

Q:		From where does the name PETLAB come?
A:		Petrology is the general term for the study of rocks, including their chemical composition, mineralogy, texture, structure and origin. A Petrology Section was set up in the the NZ Geological Survey in 1938 under the leadership of Colin Hutton. In the 1980s, the NZGS Petrology Section rock catalogue was moved onto a VAX computer and called the PET Database. The addition of laboratory analysis (LAB) tables to PET in 2000 led to the term PETLAB being coined for the new database.

Q:		I can search, display and download the rock sample data, but why can't I see any geochemical, isotopic, geochronological or petrophysical data? I thought PETLAB was supposed to be an analytical database?
A:		Public searches are restricted to basic "building block" sample data only. Analytical data require a username and password.

Q:		How do I get a username and password?
A:		Read the information on the Terms & Conditions page.

Q:		Why is access to analytical data restricted? Do I have to pay for it? I thought, as a government agency you are obliged to give it away?
A:		Crown Research Institutes are required to provide data in Nationally Significant Databases (NSDs) for the cost of retrieval. The PET part of PETLAB is an NSD but the LAB part has been developed using GNS' own funds. Most analytical data in PETLAB are available elsewhere in hardcopy form in journals, theses and reports. PETLAB is simply a convenient compilation of those data, the benefits of which are enjoyed by those who agree to add still more data to PETLAB.

Q:		I found an error in your database records. Can I sue you?
A:		No. Read the information on the Terms & Conditions page. Please email the appropriate collection manager and the data will be checked.

Q:		Why won't the Collector menu pop-up, but all the other pop-up menus do work correctly?
A:		This is a known issue on some Macintoshes with some versions of web browsers (e.g. Netscape 4.7, IE 5.1). G3 Mac with Netscape 7.0 does work. There is not much GNS can do about this. We suggest you try a different platform/browser combination.

Q:		I know that Peter Jackson analysed some lavas from Mt Doom for his PhD thesis in the 1990s. Why aren't they in the database?
A:		GNS has seeded PETLAB with quite a bit of data. But there is a huge backlog. The cooperative access arrangements (data out for data in) are designed to grow the database and hence make it more useful and comprehensive by the year. So, please get permission to compile Jackson's data, submit it to PETLAB and feel good about it.

Q:		A lot of P-number records don't have any collector, rock description, grid reference or written locality information. What gives?
A:		Such data have only been mandatory for samples lodged since 1990. Prior to that, and particularly for National Museum, Lauder Collection and pre-1950s samples, sample data are scarce (sometimes just a rock name, country and district). On an as-needs basis, we have gone to the original paper records and tried to capture these data, but in many cases they were never recorded to today's data entry standards.

Q:		How do you upload data to PETLAB?
A:		A spreadsheet like Java™ application can be downloaded from the data entry page. Fill it out and validate it (button in the application). If you are at GNS, upload it yourself (button in the application). If you are at Auckland, Waikato, Massey, Victoria, Canterbury or Otago Universities, email the saved data file to your respective rock collection manager who has upload authority. If you are from somewhere else email it it to Nick Mortimer.

Q:		How do I borrow some rocks and check a thesis?
A:		Contributing universities retain ownership of their own rock collections and intellectual property rights over data. Loan arrangements may vary from institution to institution.

Q:		There is a field for Munsell Colour in the PET forms. What is a Munsell colour?
A:		The Geological Society of America sells a rock color chart based on the Munsell colour system. See http://www.coloracademy.co.uk/ColorAcademy 2006/subjects/munsell/munsell.htm for more information. If someone has entered the Munsell Colour for a rock, that colour appears as a swatch on the sample record sheet (e.g. P72156).

Q:		No detection limits or sample preparation methods are given for any geochemical data. Why not?
A:		These were omitted so as not to discourage addition of analyses made using routine methods. The analytical audit trail includes method, laboratory, lab no. and analysis date; these should allow the intelligent user to judge the data quality. Users are always urged to check original data sources. However, as a very rough guide, the following detection limits apply: XRF majors & LOI 0.01wt%, electron probe majors 0.1wt%, XRF traces 1ppm=1 mg/kg (Ba, La 5ppm), ICP-MS traces 0.05ppm. In general a concentration level < 2-3x detection limit is unlikely to be very precise. Standard crushing at GNS has been with tungsten carbide mills; ICP-MS analyses have revealed no Nb or Ta contamination.