Vacuum freeze-drying of sediment cores: an optimised method for preserving archaeostratigraphic archives

Abstract

The authors introduce an ongoing project that explores a solution for the long-term preservation of proxies in archaeological and geological sediment cores to protect unique palaeoenvironmental data. To prevent alterations of organic properties and/or fungal growth, the sediment cores are vacuum freeze-dried, allowing long-term storage at 55 per cent relative humidity (RH).Archaeological excavations and palaeoclimate field studies are often costly, long-term and complex endeavours. One strategy is to extract sediment cores to accommodate the requirements of present and future in-depth analyses (Figure 1). This method, however, leaves

Ancient Winds, Waves, and Atmosphere in Gale Crater, Mars, Inferred From Sedimentary Structures and Wave Modeling

“…Kling et al also noted that freeze-thaw weathering might be reduced where melting occurred infrequently. It is further plausible that at very low atmospheric pressures and low temperatures frost wedging would be eliminated because the sediment would be vacuum freeze-dried before ice could melt and refreeze; such vacuum freeze-drying has been proposed as a technique to preserve sediment cores and prevent them from cracking (Enevold et al, 2019). Kling et al (2020) noted that their model of an ice-covered lake does not account for the observed fluvial sedimentary structures.…”

Uncovering the Dynamics of Confined Water Using Neutron Scattering: Perspectives

“…This methodology will enable to capture the dynamic nature of complex systems and understanding the dynamics of hydration (interfacial) water. It is our view that a proper description of water-mediated interactions will impact many areas of research, ranging from the understanding of cloud formation [50] and long-term stability of protein therapeutics [62,63] to improved food processing [64] and conservation of museum artifacts [65].…”