Manganese nodules and crusts from stations of the SO06 expedition (R/V Sonne) in the Aitutaki Passage have been selected for chemical analysis. Mn, Fe, Ni and Cu were analyzed onboard ship by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry and selected samples were re-analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry in Aachen for calibration purposes. Co, Zn, Si and Al were analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry on material dried at 105°C for 72 hrs and Ba and La by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy in Aachen. U was determined by the delayed neutron counting technique at the Riso National Laboratory, Denmark. Material has been dried before analysis at 105°C for 72 hrs and results are presented as averages over various size fractions.

From 1983 until 1989 NOAA-NCEI compiled the NOAA-MMS Marine Minerals Geochemical Database from journal articles, technical reports and unpublished sources from other institutions. At the time it was the most extended data compilation on ferromanganese deposits world wide. Initially published in a proprietary format incompatible with present day standards it was jointly decided by AWI and NOAA to transcribe this legacy data into PANGAEA. This transfer is augmented by a careful checking of the original sources when available and the encoding of ancillary information (sample description, method of analysis...) not present in the NOAA-MMS database.This dataset represents the digitized Appendix 3, pp. 97-112, of the related publication.