| Oceanography > Issues > Archive > Volume 16 > Issue 3 |
2003, Oceanography 16(3):86–87, http://dx.doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2003.35
Oceanographic Collections at Scripps
Authors | First Paragraphs | Full Article | Citation
Authors
Philip A. Hastings | Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, California, USA
Richard H. Rosenblatt | Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, California, USA
First Paragraphs
Scientists, like most people, are instinctive collectors. The founders of Scripps Institution of Oceanography were no exception. As they began exploring the marine realm in the vicinity of the fledgling field station and beyond, they naturally collected specimens, bringing them into the laboratory for identification and study (Figure 1). They, and a host of scientists after them, knew that the materials they were assembling had a value transcending their own interests. This realization led to efforts to archive them for future use and thus to the eventual creation of the Scripps Oceanographic Collections.
As Scripps Institution grew, so did its collections. Today there are five major natural history collections at Scripps: three biological and two geological (Figure 2). Each is unique, reflecting to a large degree the research interests of the Scripps scientists and staff who worked to build them. They also represent the tangible results of the expeditionary voyages of the Scripps fleet over the years. Together the Scripps Collections comprise the largest, most complete natural history repository devoted to the study of the world's oceans.
Full Article
Citation
Hastings, P.A., and R.H. Rosenblatt. 2003. Oceanographic collections at Scripps. Oceanography 16(3):86–87, http://dx.doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2003.35.