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Total Sediment Thickness of the World's Oceans & Marginal Seas

browse graphicImage of total sediment thickness of the world's oceans and marginal seas.
A digital total-sediment-thickness database for the world's oceans and marginal seas has been compiled by the NOAA National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC). The data were gridded with a grid spacing of 5 arc-minutes by 5 arc-minutes. Sediment-thickness data were compiled from three principle sources: (i) previously published isopach maps including Ludwig and Houtz [1979], Matthias et al. [1988], Divins and Rabinowitz [1990], Hayes and LaBrecque [1991], and Divins [2003]; (ii) ocean drilling results, both from the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) and the Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP); and (iii) seismic reflection profiles archived at NGDC as well as seismic data and isopach maps available as part of the IOC's International Geological-Geophysical Atlas of the Pacific Ocean [Udinstev, 2003].
Cite this dataset when used as a source.
  • ID not available.
gov.noaa.ngdc.mgg.geophysics:G01065
XML
Other Access
Distribution Formats
  • netCDF(Version:1)
    • File Specification: binary grid created using GMT (Generic Mapping Tools)
    • File Compression: No compression applied
  • ASCII(Version:1)
    • File Specification: ASCII text versions, both with and without NaNs (not a number)
    • File Compression: No compression applied
  • e00(Version:1)
    • File Specification: ESRI ArcGIS interchange format
    • File Compression: WINZIP
Distributor User Services
DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI > National Centers for Environmental Information, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce
303-497-6826
ngdc.info@noaa.gov
Dataset Point of Contact Barry W. Eakins
Research Scientist
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
303-497-6505
Barry.Eakins@noaa.gov
Time Period 1979-01-01 to 2003-01-01
Spatial Reference System urn:ogc:def:crs:EPSG::4326
Spatial Bounding Box Coordinates
West:-180.0000
East:180.0000
South:-70.0000
North:79.0000
Spatial Coverage Map
Documentation links not available.
Publication Dates
  • publication: 2003-12-23
Data Presentation Form mapDigital
Dataset Progress Status Complete - production of the data has been completed
Data Update Frequency As needed
Purpose To create a global sediment-thickness database for use by researchers and interested public.
Originators
  • Barry W. Eakins
    NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
Publishers
  • NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
  • DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI > National Centers for Environmental Information, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce
Theme keywords Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Science Keywords
  • EARTH SCIENCE>OCEANS>Marine Sediments
Uncontrolled Keywords
  • Sediment Thickness
NASA/GCMD Data Resolution Keywords
  • H : 1 km - < 10 km or approximately .01 degree - < .09 degree
  • V : 1 meter - < 10 meters
Data Center keywords Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Data Center Keywords
  • 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
Place keywords Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Location Keywords
  • Ocean>Atlantic Ocean
  • Ocean>Indian Ocean
  • Ocean>Pacific Ocean
  • Ocean>Southern Ocean
  • Vertical Location>Sea Floor
Use Constraints
  • Use Constraints: None
Access Constraints
  • Distribution liability: NOAA and NCEI make no warranty, expressed or implied, regarding these data, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty. NOAA and NCEI cannot assume liability for any damages caused by any errors or omissions in these data. If appropriate, NCEI can only certify that the data it distributes are an authentic copy of the records that were accepted for inclusion in the NCEI archives.
  • Access Constraints: None
Fees
  • None
Lineage information for:dataset
Processing Steps
  • 2000-01-01T00:00:00 -The sediment isopach contour maps for the Pacific were digitized by Greg Cole of Los Alamos National Laboratory, for the Indian Ocean by Carol Stein of Northwestern University, and the South Atlantic and Southern Ocean by Dennis Hayes of Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.
  • 2003-01-01T00:00:00 -The digitized data were then gridded at NGDC using the algorithm for "Gridding with Continuous Curvature Splines in Tension" of Smith and Wessel [1990].
Lineage information for:repository
Processing Steps
  • 2015-04-22T00:00:00 -NOAA created the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) by merging NOAA's National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC), and National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), including the National Coastal Data Development Center (NCDDC), per the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, Public Law 113-235. NCEI launched publicly on April 22, 2015.
Last Modified: 2017-09-25
For questions about the information on this page, please email:Brian.Meyer@noaa.gov