Documentation of Destructive Analyses on Thin Sections in the US Antarctic Meteorite Collection

Detailed studies and analytical measurements are commonly made using thin sections of rocks affixed with epoxy to a slide. Thin sections [1,2] are a convenient medium in which to study rocks and meteorites, and fit into sample holders compatible with many instruments. Thin sections can also be used multiple times by different researchers, and many meteorite thin sections from the US Antarctic meteorite collection, have been utilized by 5 to 6 researchers over their 40 year lifetime. Thin sections are thus a scientifically valuable resource that must be preserved, documented and conserved over time.
Analytical capabilities for meteorite and other sample studies have progressed extensively in the last 20 years, including many different kinds of analysis of high spatial resolution on thin sections. The progression to analysis on small samples has provided new and efficient ways to characterize samples while also preserving more material for future generations to study. While the development of analytical tools has expanded, many of these analyses are destructive in the sense that small pits or holes or other effects of the analysis are created on the thin sections. Preserving material for future generations thus requires recording the effects of multiple analyses on thin sections.
Here we describe the process used for documenting the effects of various analyses on thin sections in the US Antarctic meteorite collection.