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The NGDC Seafloor Sediment Grain Size Database

Published by NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce | Catalog Last Checked: May 06, 2026 at 09:30 AM | Dataset Last Updated: December 31, 2000 at 12:00 AM
The NGDC (now NCEI) Seafloor Sediment Grain Size Database contains particle size data for over 17,000 seafloor samples worldwide. The file was begun by NGDC in 1976 in response to a need by the Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Assessment Program (OCSEAP) for a detailed, digital file of textural analyses. Data are from OCSEAP studies, academic institutions, environmental baseline studies conducted under contract to the Bureau of Land Management under the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Program, and from laboratory reports generated by the U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office. Data include collecting institution, ship, cruise, sample id, latitude/longitude, date of collection, water depth, sampling device, method of analysis, sample weight, sampled interval, raw weight percentages of sediment, within a given phi range. Some samples also have percentages of total gravel, sand, silt, clay, and statistical measurements such as mean, median, skewness, kurtosis, and standard deviation of grain size.

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OCS > Outer Continental Shelf Program OCSEAP > Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Assessment Project ICSU-WDS > International Council for Science - World Data System Scientific archives Electronic records Oceanography Ocean bottom Geology

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description The NGDC (now NCEI) Seafloor Sediment Grain Size Database contains particle size data for over 17,000 seafloor samples worldwide. The file was begun by NGDC in 1976 in response to a need by the Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Assessment Program (OCSEAP) for a detailed, digital file of textural analyses. Data are from OCSEAP studies, academic institutions, environmental baseline studies conducted under contract to the Bureau of Land Management under the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Program, and from laboratory reports generated by the U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office. Data include collecting institution, ship, cruise, sample id, latitude/longitude, date of collection, water depth, sampling device, method of analysis, sample weight, sampled interval, raw weight percentages of sediment, within a given phi range. Some samples also have percentages of total gravel, sand, silt, clay, and statistical measurements such as mean, median, skewness, kurtosis, and standard deviation of grain size.
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identifier https://data.noaa.gov/waf/NOAA/NESDIS/NGDC/MGG/Geology/iso/xml/G00127.xml
isPartOf NCEI Marine Geology Inventory
issued 1976-12-31T00:00:00.000+00:00
keyword 
                                            [
  "OCS > Outer Continental Shelf Program",
  "OCSEAP > Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Assessment Project",
  "ICSU-WDS > International Council for Science - World Data System",
  "Scientific archives",
  "Electronic records",
  "Oceanography",
  "Ocean bottom",
  "Geology",
  "Submarine geology",
  "Marine sediments",
  "Marine geology",
  "Sea-floor characteristics",
  "Earth Science > Oceans > Marine Sediments",
  "Earth Science > Paleoclimate > Ocean/Lake Records > Sediments",
  "Earth Science > Oceans > Marine Sediments > Sedimentary Textures",
  "Earth Science > Oceans > Marine Environment Monitoring",
  "In Situ Ocean-based Platforms > Ships",
  "In Situ/Laboratory Instruments > Corers > Coring Devices",
  "In Situ/Laboratory Instruments > Samplers > Grabbers/Traps/Collectors > Grab Samplers",
  "In Situ/Laboratory Instruments > Corers > Sediment Corers",
  "CIESIN > Environmental Protection > Environmental Monitoring",
  "DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI > National Centers for Environmental Information, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce",
  "DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NGDC > National Geophysical Data Center, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce",
  "Geographic Region > Global Ocean",
  "Vertical Location >Sea Floor"
]
language 
                                            []
license https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
modified 2000-12-31T00:00:00.000+00:00
publisher 
                                            {
  "name": "NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information",
  "@type": "org:Organization"
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references 
                                            [
  "https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/idb/struts/form?dataset=101477&search_look=1&display_look=1&le_0=90&ge_0=-90&ge_1=-180&le_1=180",
  "https://doi.org/10.7289/V56Q1V55",
  "https://data.noaa.gov/metaview/page?xml=NOAA/NESDIS/NGDC/Collection/iso/xml/Marine_Geology.xml&view=getDataView&header=none",
  "https://data.noaa.gov/waf/NOAA/NESDIS/NGDC/MGG/Geology/iso/"
]
rights otherRestrictions, otherRestrictions, unclassified
spatial 180.0,-78.3667,-180.0,81.0705
temporal 1956-01-01T00:00:00+00:00/2000-12-31T00:00:00+00:00
title The NGDC Seafloor Sediment Grain Size Database

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