[NHCOLL-L:4724] Salvage of Thawed Soil Cores?

[Clevenger, Liz]

Dear Listers -

We have a series of soil cores from the bottom of a local lake that have been stored in a freezer in our facility for a number of years. We discovered today that the freezer they are in has malfunctioned, and currently registers a tropical 85 F inside. There is standing water at the bottom of the freezer and in the plastic core sleeves themselves; everything is thoroughly defrosted and warm to the touch. The last time we checked the freezer was at least a month ago, and it appeared to be functioning normally at that point.

I am wondering whether there is any utility in attempting to re-freeze the cores or whether they are beyond salvage at this point. They have been curated primarily for their biological record (e.g. pollen) rather than their geological or stratigraphic record, which is one of the reasons they were frozen in the first place. Because this freezer is second hand, it is highly possible that this kind of defrost may have happened before without our knowledge.

Any advice or resources would be helpful. Thanks in advance.

aloha
~Liz

Liz N. Clevenger, MA, RPA
Curator of Archaeology
(415) 561-5086
lclevenger at presidiotrust.gov<mailto:lclevenger at presidiotrust.gov>



Presidio Archaeology Lab  |  www.presidio.gov/history/archaeology<http://www.presidio.gov/history/archaeology>  |  (415) 561-ARCH  info  |  (415) 561-5089 fax
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