Beginning in 1983 the USGS searched major oceanographic institution dredge archives for samples and data relevant to the USGS Woods-Hole Ferromanganese Crust Data Base. With the cooperation of the institutions more than 600 samples were collected from twelve institutions and brought to the U.S. Geological Survey Branch of Atlantic Marine Geology in Woods Hole, Mass, for geochemical analysis. Preparation for a sampling visit began with dredge catalogs and ferro-manganese sample descriptions sent by the institutions. In order not to deplete valuable dredge materials, samples were kept as small as possible yet still consistent with optimum analytical quantities (<50 g). The best way to collect valid samples for chemical analysis was to see the entire contents of the original dredge and then choose a representative sample. However, the amount of sample taken depended in part on the size of the dredge haul, and the amount of Mn crust on the sample. To get the required amount of crust needed for analysis, more substrate and crust had to be taken from samples which had thin manganese encrustations than from samples which had thicker encrustations. Visited collections were: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Smithsonian Institute, Scripps institute of oceanography, University of Southern California, University of Miami, Florida State University, Hawaii Institute of Geophysics, University of Washington, Oregon State University, Naval Oceanographic Research and Development Activity (NORDA) and the Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory. The attached table presents the description of USGS Woods-Hole selected samples which had not been previously described in the PANGAEA database.
