The Polar Rock Repository (PRR) is a national facility located at the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center, The Ohio State University.
The repository houses rock and unconsolidated samples primarily from Antarctica, dredge collections the southern oceans, and limited collections from Australia, South America, and Africa. The polar rock collection and database also includes field notes, photos, maps, cores, thin sections, and related materials.
Samples are provided for research (including destructive techniques), education, and museum use under a no-cost loan program. Read more
Search The Collection
Opens search results in a map and data table or thumbsheet views.
Open Advanced Search & Map Sample Loan Rules
Search our Collection Database (above) to locate samples in our catalog. Narrow down by numerous available criteria options until you find the sample(s) you are looking for.
Samples may be requested by using the Add to Shopping Cart option in the search system. Destructive techniques are permitted on loaned research samples.
Educational Resources
The PRR offers several education & public outreach materials and programs including our Rock Box school loan program.
Questions?
E-mail the Curator about other uncataloged collections, or with questions.
Featured Recent Results
- Ice retreat in Wilkes Basin of East Antarctica during a warm interglacial, Nature (2020)
- Detrital thermochronometry reveals the Antarctic Peninsula is not a Pleistocene landscape, Journal of Geophysical Research - Earth Surface (2020)
- Fingerprinting Proterozoic Bedrock in Interior Wilkes Land, East Antarctica, Nature Scientific Reports (2019)
