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Paleoceanography

Paleoceanography data are derived from many proxies found in deep-sea sediments, including trace metal and isotopic composition of fossil plankton, species composition, and lithology. The World Data Service for Paleoclimatology archives data from all time periods. Coral and mollusk data are archived in their own sub-directories.

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Accessing Data at the World Data Service for Paleoclimatology

Search Paleoceanography Datasets

Search through paleoceanography studies using Investigator, Title, Location Name, Parameters, and Latitude/Longitude Bounds.

Launch Paleoceanography Data Search

Search All Paleoclimatology Data

Search our entire study archive.

Launch Paleo Data Search

Interactive Map

Select study locations by region, proximity to a point, or text-based attributes.

Launch Interactive Map

Google Earth Map

Locate and download paleoceanography studies using a Google Earth map interface. Google Earth must be installed to use this search tool.

Download KMZ File

NCEI Paleo Web Service

Use the NCEI Paleo Web Service to access paleoceanography study metadata records.

API Documentation

Contributing Data

To contribute to the paleoceanography data archive, review our instructions for contributing data. Prospective data providers can email paleo@noaa.gov to submit data and study description information.

Other Resources

Additional sources for data and information on oceanography, marine sediment, and climate science.

Paleoceanography Projects

Climate: Long-range Investigation, Mapping, and Prediction (CLIMAP)
A major initiative to produce a map of climate conditions during the last glacial maximum.
Healy-Oden Trans Arctic Expedition (HOTRAX)
Grain size, X-Ray fluorescence (XRF), and reflectance data from the Arctic.
Multiproxy Approach for the Reconstruction of the Glacial Ocean Surface (MARGO)
Integrated microfossil and geochemical reconstructions of surface temperatures and assessments of the reliability of individual records.
Nitrogen Cycle in the Ocean, Past and Present (NICOPP)
A database of global ocean marine sedimentary d15N measurements from both seafloor samples and sub-seafloor records.
Spectral Mapping Project (SPECMAP)
Global archive of plankton counts and isotope values, age and sea surface temperature models, and sea surface temperature estimates.
Relative Sea Level Database
Radiocarbon-controlled relative sea level histories from 392 sites around the globe.
LDEO Calcium Carbonate Database
This dataset contains calcium carbonate percentage data from 295 marine sediment cores, as well as 14C dates or age models as available.
Fossil Plankton Stratigraphies
Foraminifer census counts and sea surface temperature estimates derived from marine sediment cores from the North Atlantic Ocean.