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Natural history specimen preservation after flooding

This summarizes what you can do to preserve natural history specimens after flooding. It is partly based on the 1985 flooding of the Tiroler Landesmuseum Ferdinandeum in Innsbruck.

DO NOT DISCARD ANYTHING! It looks hopeless, but keep as much as possible, take curatorial decisions later.
These are general recommendations only. You are on site, use your personal discretion. If in doubt or if you have special problems, call the number above - day or night.

  • Stuffed animals and birds. Freeze them. Do not remove mud or wring specimens. Large specimens should be stored lying down if possible. Freeze in commercial plants for food. The main danger is mold and rot. If you have to dry material, it is imperative it is dried as fast as possible - store specimens widely spaced with ample ventilation. Note! Drying may cause skin to crack and deteriorate condition further.

  • Skin. As Stuffed animals above.

  • Alcohol specimens. Rarely suffer material damage, except if containers fracture. Specimens from fractured containers are at best removed from broken containers (KEEP THE LABELS) and transferred to plastic buckets with 70% ethanol.

  • Skulls and skeletons. Can be frozen or dried, depending on convenience. Note, they are often fragile and need to be packed with reasonable care. The best packing material is crumbled, thin plastic foil (doesn't get wet), but cloth, burlap, shredded wood, or paper (even if wet) provides some protection. Avoid newspaper, prone to discolour specimens.

  • Minerals. Should be dried. Note that some soluble minerals (chiefly sulfates, but also some chlorides, and occasional 'sulfur dioxide' in matrix) produce aggressive acid when wet, that may damage labels and other minerals. Sulfides and arsenides should definitely be dried as fast as possible, and stored at less than 40% relative humidity. Avoid freezing minerals. If you must and can choose:
  • Fossils. Generally not too susceptible to humidity and can be dried when opportunity arises, but note! Any specimen containing Pyrite should be dried as fast as possible, and stored at relative humidity less than 40%. Avoid freezing fossils.

  • Meteorites. Should be dried as soon as possible, and stored at relative humidity less than 40%. Sulfide (Troilite) grains very prone to decomposition on exposure to humidity. Avoid freezing meteorites.

  • Insects. Dry or freeze, but it really depends on what happened - call us. You may find the main problem can be physical damage due to weight of water/mud, rather than humidity per se.

  • Mollusk shells, corals, brachiopod shells, etc. Can be stored wet even extended time without appreciable damage, and dried as opportunity arises (there are exceptions!).

  • Labels! Ideally, keep labels with specimens or at least in the same vessel. Loose labels should preferably rinsed swiftly in clean water, and left to dry on a plastic sheet. The glue in paper often dissolves partly on prolonged exposure to water; if labels dry in a lump, the glue may cement them together, and they can no longer be separated.

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