About PetDB

What is PetDB?

PetDB is a web-based data management system for geochemical and petrological sample-based data. In its current application, PetDB contains and provides on-line access to data for sub-oceanic igneous and metamorphic rocks generated at mid-ocean ridges including back-arc basins, young seamounts, and old oceanic crust. PetDB is a project funded by the National Science Foundation.

System Specifications

PetDB's structure is generally applicable to rocks from all settings, and other database projects such as GEOROC and NAVDAT use it for geochemical data of land-based samples. The schema can accommodate geochemical data for other sample types (e.g. hydrothermal fluids, water). For more information see Lehnert et al. (2000). 

The system gives investigators easy and fast access to comprehensive integrated global data sets, allowing users to extract subsets of any size via interactive interfaces.  Investigators and students can customize their queries according to their research problems or course projects. The integration of data distinguishes these systems from data archives or data catalogs that offer access only to individual data sets such as data tables from publications.

Chemical data currently stored in the database comprise major oxides, trace elements, radiogenic and stable isotopes, and analytical age determinations measured on whole rock samples, volcanic glasses, minerals, and melt inclusions. A wide range of supplementary information (metadata) describes samples (e.g. by rock type, texture, age, modal composition, alteration), sample locations (e.g. by geographical coordinates, location names, tectonic setting), sampling process (e.g. by technique, date, cruise), archive, analytical procedures (e.g. by method, precision, standard measurements), and the source of the data (reference, author(s). These metadata are not only essential for selecting, sorting, and evaluating data properly, but they are fundamental for current and future integration with other data types, especially geospatial data, and interoperability with other databases.

PetDB Work Plan: 2007-2010

PetDB has received renewed funding from the National Science Foundation for continued operation and system improvements. The proposed work will comprise:

  • Migration of PetDB to a new system architecture that is based on a new geochemistry data model for all GfG data collections
  • Ingestion of new data, compiled from the literature or submitted to PetDB by investigators
  • Modifications to the data system to accommodate new data types such as seafloor hydrothermal spring geochemistry and petrographic data for rock samples
  • Creation of new and updated ready-to-use datasets
  • Addition of new user services, such as support for publication of datasets created from PetDB or personal work spaces to store queries and datasets (MyPetDB)
  • Collaboration with educators to further the use of the PetDB in undergraduate and graduate teaching
  • Outreach activities to maintain close liaison with relevant science and Geoinformatics communities

Management Structure

PetDB is managed as part of the Geoinformatics for Geochemistry Program, a new integrated organizational structure for NSF-funded data management activities carried out by the LDEO-CIESIN collaboration. The GfG Program was created as part of the implementation of a Project Execution Plan delivered to the United States NSF in March 2006 to address the increased demands for accountability toward the community and the funding agency, community validation and involvement, and sustainability.

View the GfG Organizational Structure
Download the GfG Project Execution Plan (3.34MB)

Partners

PetDB partners with a number of cyberinfrastructure projects including EarthChem, the System for Earth SAmple Registration (SESAR) , SedDB, and the Marine Geoscience Data System (MGDS) .