Five manganese nodules from a range of deep-sea and fossil environments were selected for this study. Most samples were prepared for bulk analysis by grinding the material finely with a pestle in a porcelain mortar. However for samples Z2140 (ELT36.039-BT) and Timor (Wai_Bua_A) the nodule cores were discarded. Depending upon the chemical elements a varied range of analytical methods were used: X-Ray fluorescence, neutron activation, mass spectrometry and atomic absorption spectrometry. All samples were dried at 110°C for the determination of H2O+ loss. Structural water H2O- was determined by ignition at 1200°C (LOI) and total CO2 was measured by a Leco gasometric technique.

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1989 NOAA-NCEI compiled the NOAA-MMS Marine Minerals Geochemical Database from journal articles, technical reports and unpublished sources from other institutions.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 1 (pp. 230) of the related publication Glasby et al. (1978) merged with Table 1 (pp. 154) of Johnston & Glasby (1978).