National Polar Sample Archive (NAPA)
The National Polar Sample Archive in Berlin-Spandau is used for the long-term storage of polar rock samples from geoscientific Antarctic and Arctic projects at various universities and research institutions.
In Berlin-Spandau, BGR operates the National Polar Sample Archive, in which rock samples from the German research community in the Arctic and Antarctic are collected, catalogued and made available for further investigations. At the request of the SCAR-IASC National Committee in 2005, the NAPA, which is managed by the Polar Geology Unit, was set up in the Berlin-Spandau branch in 2007.
Rock samples from over 40 years of German polar research are carefully catalogued in the NAPA, the oldest from the first expedition of the GANOVEX program in 1979/80. Rock samples from the polar regions are particularly valuable because they were obtained from very remote areas at great logistical expense and with considerable financial resources. The NAPA was founded to store samples obtained by scientists from universities and other research institutions for long periods of time, as storage space is often very limited, especially at universities.
Both polar regions are represented by numerous samples. Kamchatka, the Siberian Arctic, Spitsbergen, Greenland and the Canadian Arctic Archipelago make up part of the samples. There is also a comprehensive collection from Antarctic North Victoria Land, the Shackleton Range and Dronning Maud Land.
In total, the archive currently comprises around 10,000 samples in around 50 collection cabinets in various stages of processing, from bulk samples to mineral separates.
The archive is not a museum collection, so the valuable rock samples are expressly available to scientists for further research so that as many new insights as possible can be gained. This also gives researchers who are unable to reach a desired area the opportunity to analyze material from these regions. The archive in Berlin is constantly being adapted to meet demand so that further sample material can be collected in the coming years.