Intern:ARCOD/report

2009-09-15 to 2009-10-15 - visit of Evgeny Gurvich in Russian Archives, libraries and institutes (report)

From 29 September 2009 until 22 October 2009 I was working in scientific libraries of Moscow for collecting data of Soviet and Russian scientists published in books and journals of USSR and Russia. Some journals are also available in Germany. Thus a focus was set on books and journals not available via libraries in Germany. I worked in the libraries of
 * P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology
 * M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University
 * Russian State Library (Lenin Library)
 * Library of Natural Sciences of Russian Academy of Sciences
 * contact with Scientific World Publishing Company (Moscow).

Search and copying of tables containing DSDP-ODP-IODP data published in USSR and Russia had first priority. Some hundred books and journals were scanned for data tables. As a result more than 500 tables were copied, containing results of studies of DSDP-ODP-IODP sediment cores as well as about 200 pages of petrographic descriptions of samples published in USSR and Russia in books since 1970. This is supposed to be a major part (at least >50%) of such data published in USSR/Russian books.

DSDP-ODP-IODP data also have been published in journals. The focus was on journals not available in Germany with results about
 * Pacific Geology (available in Germany since 2005)
 * Stratigraphy, Geological Correlation

Search and copying of tables with results from marine research and information on positions of stations had a second priority. Some hundred tables were copied from books devoted to geological, geochemical, and biological studies in oceans and seas.

The work was kindly supported by several Russian colleagues: Academician Alexander Lisitzin, Dr. Vladimir Shevchenko, Head librarian Valery Kuznetsov, Dr. Tat'yana Khusid, Dr. Maria Marina, Prof. Alla Lein, Prof. Gleb Baturin from P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology RAS, Prof. Victor Kurnosov and Prof. Ivan Basov from the Geological Institute RAS, Prof. Elena Polyakova from M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Dr. Valentin Zinkevich from the Scientific World Publishing Company.

During the last decades many books (in Russian) were published in USSR and Russia with data on oceans and seas (besides DSDP-ODP-IODP results). Just a small part of these data were identified and copied. Further visits in Russian libraries will be required to make a significant amount of data available, or by joint work with Russian colleagues feeling interest in such an activity. It should be noted that in very many publications there are references on station numbers without their positions and depth. In my opinion it would be useful both for Russian and western scientists to "unblind" these stations by publishing positions of all geological and biological stations of USSR/Russian research vessels. Stations of the Shirshov Institute of Oceanology vessels can be the first step. These are R/Vs: Vityaz', Vityaz' II, Akademik Kurchatov, Dmitry Mendeleev, Akademik Mstislav Keldysh, Rift, Akademik Sergey Vavilov (old and new), Akademik Ioffe, Professor Shtokman, as well as manned submersibles.