The data contain measurements of major and trace metal concentrations including rare earth elements (measured with ICP-QMS) as well as Nd isotopic compositions (measured with MC-ICP-MS) for different fractions extracted from core top and older North Atlantic marine sediments. The different fractions are sequential weakly acidic or weakly acid-reductive leaches of bulk sediment, full digestions of the residual sediment, and picked and physically cleaned foraminifera tests. The data were originally used for the assessment of the effectiveness of extracting an authigenic rare earth element signal.