Sample Shipment and Accounting

Last revised July 9, 1997

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[Sample accounting records]

[Shipping Address]

[Sample return]

1. Sample accounting records

We greatly prefer to deal with sample sets that are simply numbered sequentially -- 1, 2, 3 ... -- with the client keeping a key that translates these numbers into any more complicated coding scheme he or she may have (sampling dates, sites, etc.) If this arrangement is satisfactory to you then you need only include a cover letter with your shipment stating that the shipment should contain n samples numbered 1 through n.

If you have a compelling reason to wish us to use more complex sample codes in our data report, please include with your sample shipment an itemized list of the sample codes you wish us to use, in the form of a plain ASCII file on an IBM-format floppy disk. For each such code, the driver software for our instruments is limited to a maximum of 12 characters which may be Aa-Zz and 0-9 only.

N.B., It is not sufficient merely to have a sample code written on each container -- we cannot tell from container labels whether we have received all the samples we ought to have received, or whether any are missing.

Send samples to:

Stable Isotope/Soil Biology Laboratory
Institute of Ecology
University of Georgia
Athens GA 30602-2202 USA

Please mention in your cover letter whether you wish your samples returned to you, and how they should be shipped. If you don't mention this point we will keep your samples for 90 days after analysis and then discard them. If you request return of samples but don't specify a method of shipping they will return to you via U.P.S ground C.O.D.