This compressed ZIP file contains a Google Earth project detailing as many diatomite locations as we've been able to find references to. It will require saving to your computer and unpacking to make all the files available. You will need a downloaded and installed version of Google Earth. Load the file 'World diatomite Locations v3.06.kml' into Google Earth and view the Help menu entry which will guide you through the contents.

This PDF file will load into a new browser window, from where you will be able to save it to your local machine. Hopefully you will find it a useful adjunct to your diatom studies. The author admits to fallability, so should there be errors or omissions, please let us know.

The list presented here, though not complete will hopefully serve as a useful guide to Provenance abbreviations found in the literature of Diatoms.

The Flat Screen Lightbox is a browser page for use on a horizontally positioned screen.
The user can select a background colour, an optional title and a switchable grid to allow for accurate positioning of the object to be photographed.

A simple, but effective, measuring utlity that works in a browser. However, only a single browser - Internet Explorer. It supports JPG and GIF file formats. A description of it in use is given in Vol.5.Pt.II.

By Robert B. McLaughlin
FREE downloadable 532-page book in PDF format.
"For a beginner this article alone would provide sufficient information for him to commence diatom research virtually at once and save him many hours of tedious searching through a wide variety of textbooks difficult to find and, more frequently than not, in German. I would recommend anyone interested in making diatoms a hobby, that they could do no better than starting with this article." - Ed. Markham
Alternative download source.

The Monograph on this Genus by Nicholas Edmund Brown, published by W. Watson & Sons in 1933.
This is a PDF version courtesy of David Walker.

This PDF document enumerates the phial numbers and location of the entire combined collections of the Meakin father and son dynasty.

By Horace G. Barber
360+ pages of diatom notes and illustrations from perhaps the best diatom draughtsman in recent years.
The manuscript came to light only recently and has been transcribed and edited by Steve Gill. This is quite a substantial file and takes some time to download, but we think you'll find it worthwhile.

By Horace G. Barber
The next volume of Horace Barber's notes. 178 pages of diatom notes and illustrations. This volume includes further detail of Horace's life and also his notes from the British Diatomists meeting at Malham in 1979.
The manuscript for this volume was provided by Horace's son, Alan.

By Horace G. Barber
A small sketch book containing a large number of pencil, pen and ink drawings and a couple of watercolours (none of which are of diatoms). The majority of these drawings were executed when he was in his forties. There was no text with the sketches. The drawings are beautifully executed and deserve a wider audience. It is hoped that the addition of some rather eclectic text references and images will add to the viewer’s enjoyment. I have included a considerable number of extracts from the novels and poetry of George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans) who was born at Arbury, Nuneaton many of whose works were based on locations in the district. Horace spent the majority of his life walking and cycling in this area where he made a home for himself and his family.
The original sketchbook is in the possession of Horace's son, Alan.

Some works by Douglas Turnbull Richardson
It was about 2006, when Doug was in his 80s, that I supplied him with a desktop PC as he had expressed a desire to transfer his notes into an electronic form. Shortly thereafter he also acquired a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX12 digital camera and set about making a cardboard adapter to attach it to his microscope and another such as a 35mm slide copier. By the time of his demise in December 2013 he had catalogued his slide collection, transcribed many of the notes he collected over the years, digitised his 35mm slide archive and taken many new photographs down the microscope. The images alone run into thousands.
Doug's family were unsure of what to do with this mass of data but recognised that its loss would be a tragedy and have, therefore, given permission for samples of his passion for nature to be reproduced as a downloadable object.
Much of the data relates to sites in Yorkshire (particularly the Malhamdale district). This “raw data” will, I believe, be found very useful to any who are undertaking researches in that area. Photographs and records other than water analyses will be found useful by any worker in the British Isles. There is some duplication of data between the various sections and for this I make no apology as it is reproduced in context.
Should anyone wish to make a donation in memory of Doug and an appreciation of his work then please consider donating to Manorlands Hospice.

An interesting record of Bill's work in the field of Optics. Much of the work relates to the building and enhancement of two microscopes and his quest for the best resolution. He records much diatom detail in his sketches.
The first 20 or so pages are concerned with his photographic endeavours and are interesting though no longer applicable in the digital age.
This is very much a 'dip-in' and see what you get book. There is a Book II but that will have to wait until the reaction to this volume can be assessed.

The accumulated notes of Cedric Norman Walter encompassing most things relating to Diatom Cleaning and Mounting.
Concise instructions as set out in his personal record.

The whole comprises those letters from Samuel Henry Meakin to Charles Leslie Odam in the period 1948 to 1950. Unfortunately, except in one instance, the corresponding communications from Dr. Odam are not included in the archive.
Nonetheless, the material and views expressed in the letters provide an interesting and informative insight into the opinions and techniques of S. H. Meakin and also the way in which Dr. Odam’s diatom interests were heading.

This listing has been transcribed from a typescript copy of the A4 original.
The listing is not only important in enumerating an important collection of material and slides but is also rich in fine detail relating to those samples, often describing exact locations, collectors, cleaners and occasionally featuring extra maps and extracts pertaining to the samples.

The contents of this publication are something of a mixed bag being notes, illustrations and letters, most previously unpublished, which were found in Bernard Hartley’s archive of correspondence with Horace Barber. Unlike the previous volumes these ‘papers’ relate to a wide range of sites rather than a single region. There are notes on fossil material from Russia and the States as well as notes on collections made at British Diatomist meetings. Also of interest are Horace’s opinions on ‘splitters and lumpers’. The multiple introductions to his “British Diatom Flora” are historically important in that none of these made their way into the publication “An Atlas of British Diatoms” published after his death. Barber was particulalrly interested in the variation within a species and nearly all his plates include such, in an effort to illustrate that many ‘described species’ were, in fact, simply a variation of a type. In this respect Horace could be described as a ‘lumper’.

These plates originated by Horace Barber circulated to Bernard Hartley and John Carter and ultimately back to Horace, all of whom added id's. These particular copies were in Bernard Hartley effects. Though not complete (some numbers are missing) they still form a massive body of work.
Unlike "The Atlas of British Diatoms" these plates include collection location. By clicking the title above you can download the higher resolution pdf (109mb), alternatively click here for the lower resolution version (28mb)