The first example I knew something about as its generous donator provided some background, but you may acquire samples from various sources with no background and just a cryptic sample label to go on. That is all it states on the vial of white powder. Fortunately this sample series is well documented and 'EB' has an index reference for 'DSDP' which stands for 'Deep Sea Drilling Project' and involved the drilling vessel 'Glomar Challenger'. A sample taken by the drilling vessel 'Glomar Challenger' from the Indian Ocean floor. Assuming no prior knowledge of the sample, the Internet can reveal a wealth of information just using the sample code in a search.
Horizontal field ca.
DSDP' in Altavista 's search engine provides many leads and the first listed hit was a 'bullseye' - a link to the official web site of the ' Ocean Drilling Programme ' of which the 'DSDP' forms part. An on-line world map showed 'DSDP leg 237' was a drill site in the Indian Ocean NE of Madagascar. Many 'DSDP legs' have been catalogued on-line but apparently not '237' to date. So trying a more subtle 'Boolean' search string 'DSDP NEAR 237' on Altavista came up with other sites, and illustrates how a variety of resources can be helpful. A well documented third party sample code, or named sample site as keywords in a search may reveal a wealth of info' on-line.