[Nhcoll-l] Chimney pieces

[John E Simmons]

Paul,
Is the sample moist or dry?

Several years ago I saw a geothermal chimney that did dry out and crumble.
You might want to consider keeping it as a wet specimen, either in mineral
oil as described by Chamberlin in 1925), in glycerin that is treated with
an antifungal such as thymol or camphor, or in a glycerin and
water solution with thymol or camphor. I don't know if any of the wet
storage options would affect the scientific value of the specimen--I
suppose it would depend on the mineral and salt composition.

Chamberlin, J. C. 1925. Heavy mineral oil as a permanent non-volatile
preservative for valuable biological material. Science 61(1590):634-635.

Please do let us know what option you chose--this is a very interesting
problem.

--John

John E. Simmons
US Fulbright Senior Scholar
Writer and Museum Consultant, Museologica
*and*
Research Associate, Earth and Mineral Sciences Museum & Art Gallery, Penn
State University
*and*
Investigador Asociado, Departamento de Ornitología, Museo de Historia
Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima


On Wed, Jun 3, 2026 at 1:04 PM Callomon,Paul <prc44 at drexel.edu> wrote:

> Folks,
>
>
>
> Does anyone have experience with preserving pieces of “chimneys” taken
> from geothermal vents in the deep sea? These are mineral accretions, but
> not fully lithified. I’m assuming they contain water and will thus dry out
> and crumble in air.
>
>
>
> *Paul Callomon*
> *Collection Manager, Malacology and General Invertebrates*
> ------------------------------
>
> *Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, Philadelphia*
> prc44 at drexel.edu / Tel. 215-405-5096
>
>
>
>
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