The H2O is determined by air-drying the nodule samples at 200°C for two hours. The loss on ignition (LOI) is then measured after a one hour heating at 1100°C. In reducing the analyses to a detrital mineral free basis, SiO2, Al2O3, H2O, and CaCO3 in amounts greater than 5%, were considered as detrital minerals.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1989 NOAA-NCEI compiled the NOAA-MMS Marine Minerals Geochemical Database from journal articles, technical reports and unpublished sources from other institutions.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.