The CLIMAP (Climate: Long-range Investigation, Mapping, and Prediction) Project was funded by the National Science Foundation as part of the International Decade of Ocean Exploration (IDOE). Collection and analysis of cores for the 120K bp CLIMAP set was carried out by several institutions; data were compiled by the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University. Data include micropaleontology, carbonate percentages, carbon 14 age dates, sea surface temperature estimates, and oxygen and carbon isotopic data for 52 ocean sediment cores.

Carbon-14 data in this file were compiled by W.F. Ruddiman and staff at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University. Data include 974 carbon-14 dates from 309 ocean sediment cores, covering the period from 40,000 years bp to the present worldwide. Estimated error range is given. Also included are core identifier, latitude/longitude, water depth, depth in core, institutional source, laboratory number, and sediment fraction analyzed (total, bulk, or fine fraction).

The SPECMAP Archive No.1 was compiled by Brown University under the direction of A. Duffy and J. Imbrie with the assistance of A.C. Mix and A. Mcintyre, and funded by the National Science Foundation. The SPECMAP Archive No.1 contains climate times series of the past 400,000 years, and basic downcore and core-top data from which these time series were derived for 17 sediment cores from the Atlantic Ocean.

LDEO Carbonate data were compiled under the direction of A. Esmay and W.F. Ruddiman at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University. Data include CaCO3 percentages by interval down core for 328 sediments cores, principally from the Atlantic ocean. Data are derived primarily from two sources. First, cores analyzed during the CLIMAP project to generate stratigraphic control on cores from key deep-sea regions. Second, cores analyzed using almost entirely National Science Foundation funds, but through smaller grants to individuals and institutions.

The Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) operated the drilling vessel JOIDES Resolution from 1984-2003 for over 100 cruises worldwide. The ODP was funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and several countries through the Joint Oceanographic Institutions (JOI). In 1992, the National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) placed most of the core data from legs 101-129 of the ODP onto CDROM in cooperation with NSF and JOI. The data are from an ODP relational database system in place prior to the later, JANUS, system.

The USGS Ferromanganese Crust data set was compiled by F.T. Manheim and C.M. Lane-Bostwick of the U.S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole, MA. The data set consists of tables corresponding the USGS Open-File Report 89-020 "Chemical Composition of Ferromanganese Crusts in the World Oceans: A Review and Comprehensive Database." Data include excerpts from the SIO nodule file, the NOAA and MMS marine minerals data base, Japanese sources, a Ph.D. thesis, analyses performed at the Bureau of Mines, and analyses performed at other laboratories under the direction of the USGS.

Weight percentages of calcium carbonate in this file were compiled by J. Farrell and W. L. Prell of Brown University for 17 equatorial Pacific Ocean sediment cores. Cores are identified by cruise and core id. Depth-in-core information and estimates of sediment age, by depth, in millions of years (Ma) are included. Carbonate percentages are weight percent of bulk samples, rounded to the nearest integer. Models used to generate (by linear interpolation) ages also included in table form.

Counts of primarily planktonic foraminifera from Dr. W.F. Ruddiman and staff at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University are included in these files. Some diatom observations made by Dr. C. Sancetta of LDEO are also included. The data set consists of approximately 35 files of faunal counts including core id., latitude, longitude, water depth, and appropriate transfer function. Data also include depth in core, count of total species, total abundance, case condition for count, core type code, and faunal code.

This file was compiled by the Japan Oceanographic Data Center using the IOC Marine Geological Data Format. It includes 748 master records and 1740 data records. It contains information on unconsolidated sediments and hard rocks from the seafloor, including station location, collecting institution and ship, date of collection, type of collecting device, analysis method(s), grain size information, biogenous components, structure, non-biogenous components, age, sediment color, and remarks. Igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks are also noted including encrustations, and erratics.

The NGDC Seafloor Sediment Geotechnical Properties Database contains test engineering properties data coded by students at NGDC from primarily U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office laboratory reports, but also from data reports generated by NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML). These files consist of very few reports coded at NGDC into the historic "074" format which was then incorporated into the historic "073" digital format for physical properties of sediments.