A national hub for continental scientific drilling: the C-DRILL core repository at CNR (Italy)

The C-Drill Core Repository, currently under development at the CNR - Territorial Research Area of Rome 1, is designed to address this gap by establishing a national reference facility for the conservation, management and scientific reuse of continental drilling cores. The repository will accommodate approximately 50–70 km of cores stored in controlled environments (+4 °C, room temperature, −20/−80 °C), supported by high-density mobile racking, automated climate control and continuous environmental monitoring. The facility will also host dedicated laboratories for core splitting and handling, high-resolution and multispectral imaging, XRF scanning, physical property logging (MSCL), wet and dry sample preparation, and microscopy. These capabilities will enable non-destructive characterisation and advanced analytical workflows directly linked to the archived materials.

A fully integrated digital workflow will be implemented, including systematic core digitisation, LIMS-based traceability, a standardised sample request system and interoperability with international data repositories in compliance with FAIR principles (e.g. PANGAEA, EarthChem, mDIS).

Conceived as a modular and scalable infrastructure, C-Drill will ensure high standards of climatic stability, data integrity, safety and user accessibility. The repository will provide services to national research institutes, universities and public agencies; support training activities for early-career scientists and technical staff; and generate interoperable datasets aligned with ICDP/IODP³, EPOS and other international frameworks.

By overcoming the current fragmentation of continental core archives in Italy, C-Drill will harmonise procedures for core acquisition, documentation and access with the best practices of leading European and international repositories. At the same time, it will enhance research efficiency, foster multidisciplinary collaboration and strengthen Italy’s capacity to participate in major international scientific drilling initiatives.

This contribution presents the design rationale, functional requirements, technological solutions and planned user services of the C-Drill Core Repository. The EGU platform will be used to engage potential partners, gather community feedback and refine the development roadmap towards full integration into the international scientific drilling network.