Sample Hierarchies

What is a Sample Hierarchy?

Many objects that are sampled from the Earth yield subsamples. For example, sediment cores may be sampled at regular intervals for series of measurements, sometimes giving rise to hundreds of individual samples from the core. Another example are individual grains of zircons that may be extracted from rocks for geochronological analysis. This relation among samples is considered a parent-child relationship in the world of data management: sub-samples are children of a parent sample. Subsamples can be sampled themselves, leading to more complex hierarchies. 

Does SESAR track relations among samples?

Yes. SESAR has been designed to record the relationship between samples and sub-samples. Subsamples have their own entry in the SESAR registry and have independent IGSNs. The parent-child relationship is established by recording the IGSN of the parent in the child metadata profile.