The 127 sediment samples of this study (Table XIV-1) were selected on the ship from 17 piston cores and 27 box cores, which were taken by shipboard members from 44 locations along the traverses of GH80-1 cruise. The samples were dried at 70°C, ground, and subsequently split into fractions. One fraction was analysed with automatic X-ray fluorescence spectrometer JOEL-IOOS for Si, Ti, Al, Fe, Mn, Mg, Ca, Na, K, and P. Other fractions were analysed for total water, ignition loss, dissolved chlorine, ferrous iron, and carbonate.

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1989 NOAA-NCEI compiled the NOAA-MMS Marine Minerals Geochemical Database from journal articles, technical reports and unpublished sources from other institutions.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 Table XIV-2, pp. 297-300, of the related publication.