About

Platform Overview

Geospecimens.org is a data mobilization application focused on geological and mineralogical collections data. The application is divided into two top-level modules: 1) Frontend Resources and 2) Collections Data Manager. The frontend resources module is the publicly accessible portion of the site. The module and offers several interactive tools and resources for exploring geological information. Features include:

  • Interactive Tools: Classification trees and visual taxonomy systems for minerals and meteorites
  • Search Capabilities: Users can search for mineral names, rock classifications, and geographic information
  • Gallery: A collection of specimen photos
  • Tools: A set of web-based tools that support general digitization activities.

The backend provides a wide array of tools for entering and management geosciences collections data. Features include digital asset manager, controlled vocabularies module, MIDS annotator, and a compound specimen data entry system where a provider can enter a collection object with individual parts (see glossary for details). Currently, access to the backend is by invitation only. A wider release is set for early 2026.

Terms of Use

The publisher* does not guarantee the accuracy of the data served through geospecimens.org** and web services. Therefore, use of data accessed through the portal and web services is at the user's own risk.

All third-party datasets provided through geospecimens.org are acquired from publicly accessible sources. The author does not publish third-party datasets subject to proprietary or restrictive licenses. The publisher provides proper citations, license information, and data use policies through geospecimens.org and web services for all third-party applicable datasets*. End-users must observe the provisions of the licenses and data use policies provided with applicable datasets. Commercial use is not permitted unless explicitly allowed by the provider. We make every effort to post the proper licensing and data use policies. Unfortunately, despite the best efforts, errors may occur. If any error is encountered in the license and data use policies provided with a dataset, please contact Ben Norton (see contact information below) immediately.

Please notify Ben Norton (contact information below) with any general questions about geospecimens.org. Please direct all questions regarding a specific dataset to the primary contact.

All images, unless explicitly noted otherwise, are licensed under CC BY-NC under which data are made available for any use provided that attribution is appropriately given and provided the use is not for commercial purposes.

  • * Publisher refers to the entity responsible for making this platform available.
  • ** Reference to geospecimens.org includes all websites belonging to the geoapis.io, geospecimens.org, and geospecimens.io domains.
  • *** An 'applicable dataset' is a published dataset that the provider has properly licensed with a recognized license model (e.g., CC0, CC-BY-NC).

Publisher
Ben Norton
Developer and Informatics Specialist
ben@geospecimens.org

Platform Status and History

GeoSpecimens launched in late July 2025 as a proof-of-concept platform for the Mineralogy Extension to the Darwin Core data standard. The initial soft launch was deliberately limited—access was restricted, features were minimal, and users were advised to expect errors. However, this cautious approach proved short-lived. As the platform's potential to serve diverse needs became apparent, development activity increased substantially. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, the platform should be considered in active development. Production status will be assigned to specific features and functionality, with production-level components clearly annotated. Third-party data should be considered reliable and remains subject to the respective publisher's license agreements. All errors are actively tracked using Bugsnag and will be promptly addressed by the developer.

Last Updated: December 26th, 2025