FAQ - Frequently asked questions Foraminifera.eu version July 2012 Table of Contents 0. Usage 1. Purpose 1.1. What is your mission ? 2. Content 2.1 Is your classification reliable ? 2.2. How may I trust your classification ? 2.10. Locality Maps: What is the purpose ? 2.11. Locality Maps: How may I use them ? 3. Organization 3.1. Who is running this ? 3.2. Who is financing the project ? 3.3. Do you need financial donations ? 3.8. Do you plan to become a profit-oriented project ? 4. Reliability and stability 4.1. What happens when you are run over by a truck ? 5. Contribution 5.1. How may I contribute ? 5.1.1 Do you need used machinery, are you able to repare donated machinery ? 5.2. Running Projects to participate in 5.2.1 Foraminifera of the Oligocene Sternberger Gestein. 5.2.2 Mediterranean from Tethys to now illustrated by Foraminifera. 5.2.3 Maastrichtian Foraminifera 5.2.4 Index Foraminifera - an easy to use webpage 5.2.5 Android App Foraminifera 5.2.6 Paleozoic Foraminifera 5.2.7 Lower Cretaceous of the Western Algarve 5.3. Finished Projects 5.3.1 Establishing the basic concept for the Foraminfera.eu Database 5.3.2 Creating a general foraminifera exhibition 5.3.3 Creating a poster for the Laegerdorf quarries - collecting-days - 5.3.4 Creating different talks on foraminifera and adjustant areas in German+English 5.3.5. Presenting the Foraminifera.eu Project at international meetings of Foraminiferologists 5.3.6 Establishing different working groups with active members 5.3.7 Digitizing a text on German Oligocene index-forams by Siegfried Mueller 5.4 Key to Genera - improvement project 5.5 Traveling exhibition on Foraminifera. 5.6 Book a local talk. 5.7 Upload of Images 6. Response, User Statistics 6.1. How many users visit foraminifera.eu and what do they do ? 6.2. What about new contacts via email ? 6.3. What kind of contributions are made ? 6.4. India / Indonesia - many accesses, no contributions 6.5. How do you evaluate the statistics, feedback and contributions ? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0. How may I ask my questions and comment on your FAQ ? The FAQ will be under construction for a while. You may download it as .txt, add your comment, ask new questions and send it back. We will integrate your questions and our answers here. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Purpose 1.1. What is your Mission ? The Foraminifera.eu-Project wants to foster the interest in foraminifera. Foraminifera form precious tests and tell a lot about marine environments - present and in Earth history. It is easy to find them. Altogether we consider forams as perfect collecting and studying objects. The Foraminifera.eu-Project wants to builds a bridge between science and community. Experienced foraminiferologist get a platform to share their knowledge with inexperienced ones. Our goal is to enlarge the outreach of foraminiferal research by offering easy to use features on our webpage and practical help through our services. We offer practical help in sample-processing, imaging and classification. The Foraminifera.eu-Project is non-commercial. We as staff and our contributors do not get a financial compensation as our work is based on naturalist enthusiasm. We will use donations of money or equipment only to cover costs for material, equipment and services bought from third parties. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Content 2.1. Is your classification reviewed ? About 40% of the classifications are reviewed by scientists, as the images are provided by them and published in journals or a PHD-thesis. In the database-query you may select reviewed images by choosing "Classification" = "reviewed". You will find a green arrow with the remark "the classification is reviewed ..." on the according single specimen-page. 2.2 How may I trust your classification ? About 40% of all classifications are reviewed as mentioned in 2.1.. On a single specimen-page you will find the source on which our classification is based upon. Always make up your own mind by consulting this source and others. Use the database-query to compare specimens alike. Do not hesitate to contact us in order to discuss classifications and correct errors. 2.10. Locality Maps: What is the purpose ? You shall find the foraminifera of a desired region by clicking it on maps. You may get results on the three levels in the database: oceans, areas and single localities. As many localities in the oceans do not have a recognizable name, we think a map-based choice is more descriptive. 2.11. Locality Maps: How may I use them ? Move your mouse over the World map and click the desired ocean (Arctic, Northern Atlantic, Southern Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Southern). A new window with 2 frames opens with the chosen ocean to the left. Choose an area again by moving and clicking the mouse. Your choice will appear in the frame to the right. On the area map you will find orange circles indicating the localities available. Move your mouse to the circles and click it. A third window will open which shows the available foraminifera on a plate. The link "its foraminifera" may be used to get a plate on the available foraminifera of an ocean or area. In the third window you may narrow down your search by making more choices for example by choosing an order. 2.12. Locality: How do I move around for example to another ocean, area ? There are different options depending in which window you are. From the World map you may choose oceans only. In any ocean map - always in the left frame - you may move to an adjacent ocean by moving and clicking your mouse at the according border of the map. Note, that clicking may be only available if there is an adjacent ocean and not a land-mass. Move the mouse to the part of the border, where the adjacent ocean is visible. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Organization 3.1. Who is running this ? Task Responsible Person/s Contact via Email: Owner and friendly dictator Michael Hesemann (MH) michael at foraminifera.eu Field trips Dieter Ketelsen (DK) info at foraminifera.eu Samples and Projects Stefan Raveling (SR) Sample cracking, washing and sieving Karl-Otto Bock (KOB), MH, DK,SR Picking and Slicing KOB, MH, DK, SR sample at foraminifera.eu Plummer-cell slides Karl-Otto Bock sample at foraminifera.eu SEM-stub specimen positioning KOB, MH, MH sample at foraminifera.eu SEM Dr. Georg Rosenfeldt, MH sample at foraminifera.eu Optical imaging incl. stacking MH, DK sample at foraminifera.eu Classification KOB, MH, DK, SR with coop. experts WEB, WEB 2.0, SEO Michael Hesemann info at foraminifera.eu Backup Office and Mirror Jonas Hesemann jonas.hesemann at gmx.de 3.2. Who is financing the project ? The Foraminifera.eu Project is financed by its staff. The running costs including SEM are about 400 Euro p.a. so far. The old SEM has been a donation, was repaired and is now maintained and used by the AG Mikrobiologie and AG Mikropalaeontologie in the Naturwissenschaftlicher Verein Hamburg. Most of the staff are active members in these AGs. All other technical equipment and literature is personally owned and financed by us for hobby-purposes anyhow. The income is negligible. All staff and contributors work without a financial compensation as enthusiastic naturalists. 3.3. Do you need financial donations ? At present we are focusing on non-financial donations such as valuable samples, images, literature, equipment and professional advise. Financial donations are possible to the Naturwissenschaftlicher Verein Hamburg, which is a certified and audited charity-organization. Tax-deductible donation receipts are issued, at least valid in Germany. A cooperation with a charity-organization in your country may be established, if your donation is worth it. A rough plan is under way to buy a 3D-imaging system, which may cost 60-80.000 Euro. 3.8. Do you plan to become a profit-oriented project ? It is not planned to turn into a profit-oriented project. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. Reliability and stability 4.1. What happens when you are run over by a truck ? When I am run over by a truck - which is somewhat likely for a daily cyclist - my son Jonas Hesemann (physicist) will become the owner of foraminifera.eu and keep the web page on-line at the last status. He will look for an adequate new "friendly dictator", which might be the Grzybowski Foundation, TMS London or a single person then. He gets a copy of the whole system every quarter. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5 Contribution 5.1. How may I contribute ? All kind of contributions from all levels of experience (from beginner to senior expert) are welcome and valuable: - give feedback - tell us as a beginner what you like, what is missing and what distracts you - make recommendations for changes - process samples with our help - study literature and classify specimens - send in samples (and get images in return) - search your collection on material with foraminiferal content - get samples from us and work on them - send images with data on classification, locality and stratigraphical range - send / make illustrations - send literature on foraminifera (transport-costs may be covered) - write a mini lecture - correct errors on the web-page, suggest better classifications - link to foraminifera.eu from your or other web-pages you have contact to. - join our monthly meetings in Hamburg (http://www.mikrohamburg.de/ProgrammPalaeo.html) - donate equipment, abundant collections, money ... - help with programming and adding new features - work on special issues such as how to add faunal criteria to the database - create a foraminifera-exhibition with our help - show our foraminifera-exhibition (English, German versions with many images) - invite us for a talk (transport-costs need to be covered) - join our annual meeting / courses - hold your talk in Hamburg There may be more you can do. Just tell us about what you would like to do. 5.1.1 Do you need used machinery, are you able to repare donated machinery ? All kind of machinery commonly used in micropaleontology is most valuable for us. Especially we miss a thin-section machine, a sample-splitter, a sample washing/sieving unit, an ESEM-machine, core-drill equipment and binoculars for use in class with youth. In our team are experienced chemists, engineers, soft- and hardware technicians, biologists, geologists and microscope- and photogrpahy-technicians. We are capable of repairing almost everthing, especially binoculars and microscopes. For example we got a used SEM of the 1980s and attached it through our own made sophisticated data-transmission to a modern PC. Equipment may be picked up in Europe or the US. We have cooperators in many countries willing to pass your donated machinery to us. 5.2. Running Projects to participate in 5.2.1 Foraminifera of the Sternberger Gestein. Detailed portray of the foraminieral content of this fossil-rich, Chattian (Oligocene) glacial erratic found in Northeastern Germany. A webside has been set up at www.foraminifera.eu/sternberg. Some prominent families such as Vaginulinidae and Nodosariidae have been yet dealt with. Further analysis of more groups is needed. The working-group consists of 3+ persons. Material may be shared. Who is interested - including absolute beginners - may contact me at michael [at] foraminifera.eu It is expected that members of the group are capable to fulfill an agreed job in the agreed time. 5.2.2 The Mediterranean from Tethys till now, illustrated by Foraminifera. Samples of the Mediterranean illustrating major events since the Late Cretaceous need to be processed and acquired. So far recent, Pleistocene and Pliocene samples are partly processed and about 250 images made, see http://www.foraminifera.eu/medit00.html The working-group consists of 2 persons. Who is interested - including absolute beginners - may contact me at michael [at] foraminifera.eu. It is expected that members of the group are capable to fulfill an agreed job in the agreed time. 5.2.3 Maastrichtian Foraminifera As of march 2012 a working group of 4 people is set up and will work on the many samples we hold from Maastrichtian strata ranging from core-drills to grab samples from quarrys of Northwestern Europe and to a limited extent from the US. As of July 166 images and classifications are online: www.foraminifera.eu/querydb.php?&stage=Maastrichtian&aktion=suche Who is interested - including absolute beginners - may join us by contacting me at michael [at] foraminifera.eu. It is expected that members of the group are capable to fulfill an agreed job in the agreed time. The Maastrichtian Working Group will have its annual meeting in November visiting a professional lab as a teaser. The topics are classification, status in sample-processing and how to move on. 5.2.4. Index Foraminifera we are intending to develop an easy to use webpage for chronostratigraphy by index foraminifera. See first entries at www.foraminifera.eu/if.html Foraminifera are commonly used as index, marker of guide fossils for biostratigraphical zonation of sedimentary rock and sediments. This zonation permits the establishment of a relative age, a chronostratigraphy, for a sedimentary section. Micropaleontologists have established a wide-spanning net of biozones in space and time based on the first and last occurrences of selected species. From its foraminiferal content samples may be precisely placed into an according biozone. Hundreds of scientific publications are available on biozonation with foraminifera but an overall and easy to use catalogue of index foraminifera is hard to get. With these pages we want to build such an easy to use catalogue of index foraminifera primarily for ourselves, but we share it with you. Siegfried Mueller - a retired geologist and specialist in East German stratigraphy of the Tertiary - will work with us on the Paleogene part. www.foraminifera.eu/mueller1966.html 5.2.5 Android App Foraminifera a rough plan is made to program a Android App for Foraminifera for mobiles and tablet-touchscreens 5.2.6 Paleozoic Foraminifera The Paleozoic Foraminifera researchers Conkin and Conkin have allowed to use their whole publications on foraminifera.eu. The many publications need to be digested and integrated. In 2012 it is planned by the associated AG Mikropalaeontologie im Naturwissenschaftlichen Verein Hamburg to acquire a professional thin-sectioning machine. Thus practical work on Paleozoic rock samples may begin. See http://www.foraminifera.eu/conkin.php 5.2.7 Lower Cretaceous of the Western Algarve Brian Ottway - a retired professor of marine-biology - introduced me on a field-trip to the Barremian to Albian stratigraphy near Lagos, Western Algarve. We took several test-samples, among which a sample of the Aptian Luz formation prooved to be promising: www.foraminifera.eu/luz.php. We agreed that Brian will sample a Luz formation profile of a road cut and we investigate the samples including counting, species identification with the vision to publish the results in 2014/2015. 5.3 Finished Projects and Projects not open to new coworkers 5.3.1 Establishing the basic concept for the Foraminfera.eu Database A stable data-structure and useful user-interface has been established with 5300+ illustrations and metadata entered as of July 2012. 5.3.2 Creating a general foraminifera traveling exhibition with 10-15 posters, 15 plastic of foraminifera, equipment of the mircopaleontologist, raw-material, plummercell-slides, 3 binoculars with mounted samples, video and PC installation see www.foraminifera.eu/exhibtion.html 5.3.3 Creating a poster for the Laegerdorf quarries - collecting-days - see http://www.foraminifera.eu/laegerdorfposter.html 5.3.4 Creating different talks on foraminifera and adjustant areas in German and English 5.3.5. Presenting the Foraminifera.eu Project at international meetings of Foraminiferologists done so at FORAMS 2010, TMS Meeting Foram and Nanofossil working group 2011 Krakow Centenial meeting of the Palaeontologische Gesellschaft in Berlin Sept. 2012 5.3.6 Establishing different working groups with active members done as seen in 5.2 5.3.7 Digitizing a text on German index-foraminifera of the Oligocene by Siegfried Mueller download available at http://foraminifera.eu/mueller1966.html 5.3.8. Analysis of a Miocene drill-core (82m) for the Hamburger Geologisches Landesamt. It is intended to publish the results, if time allows. A new core-drill is delivered and analysis has started. 5.4 Key to Genera we want to improve our Key-to-Genera with more than 480 genera integrated so far. see http://www.foraminifera.eu/taxopresel.php 5.5. Traveling exhibition on Foraminifera. www.foraminifera.eu/exhibtion.html An exhibition on foraminifea with 10-15 posters, 15 bigger plastic of foraminifera, equipment of the mircopaleontologist, raw-material, plummercell-slides, 3 binoculars with mounted samples, video and PC installation is available. It may be shown anywhere and enlarged with local foraminifera. (so far shown twice, two new exhibits are in prep.) At the Calvert Marine Museum we installed a table display (http://foraminifera.eu/exhibitcalvert.html ) 5.6. Book a local talk. You may ask for a local talk/presentation on foraminifera. Such talks are held 5-10x a year in German and English. If local material is provided, only travel costs need to be covered or shared. A presentation of locally found foraminifera may be added, but will need some time for preparation. The following talks are available: - Microfossils - collecting and study object - Foraminifera - an introduction and insight into their scientific and economic usage - The Creation of the Mediterranean - proved by the microfossil record 5.7. Upload of Images You may send images via email. We may also download from your virtual drive. While classification may be done later an exact specification of the locality and stratigraphical setting is essential. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6. Response, User Statistics, Contributions 6.1. How many users visit foraminifera.eu and what do they do ? According to Google Analytics in one year 1.5.2011-30.4.2012 (previous period) 30886 (22580) unique visitors made 55031 (40073) visits, with an average stay of 5:25 (6:35) minutes and 289114 (239070) pageviews Most popular are besides the front page AtoC.html, foraminifera-fossil-record.html and locality.html. The database features at querydb.php and taxo.php only play a minor role of about 6% of all pageviews. 6.2. What about new contacts via email ? New contacts via email are very poor. With the page improving it seems new contributions are declining. About 5-10 new contacts occur each month. Mainly newbies ask for basic information or articles. About every month a contribution of material or images is offered. 6.3. What kind of contributions are made ? About every second month a new contributor comes forward. Contributors commonly stay in contact for a long time and make continuous contributions. Scientists asked for contributions commonly are very kind and helpful, though their time-budget is usually very limited. Altogether the contributions are overwhelming. The many images are only on-line due to the numerous contributions made. 6.4. India / Indonesia - many accesses - no contributions Most contributions are made from Europe and North America. Many accesses are made from India and Indonesia but there are no contributions: no samples, no comment more than "nice webpage". People from India commonly promise something in order to get something. They never deliver. China is off this topic, as of July 2012 a first contribution of 80 SEMs from a core-drill in the Southern Yellow Sea is made. www.foraminifera.eu/sys.php 6.5. How do you evaluate the statistics, feedback and contributions ? Overall the response to the foraminifera.eu-project is overwhelming. While hobby-naturalist and -paleontologists mainly send in samples and write articles in hobby-magazines using our images, scientists not only provide samples, but also images, literature and the copyrights to use their scientific publications. A few people give feedback on the mission, path and future of foraminifera.eu.