Mediterranean marine sediment cores database: unlocking paleoclimatic signals for the last 20,000 years

Abstract The Mediterranean Sea is a crucial area for studying past climate dynamics due to its unique geography and hydrology. We present PaleoMED20, a paleoclimatic database that spans nearly six decades of research in the Mediterranean, covering the last 20,000 years. With over 1,500 marine sedime...

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Main Authors: Allyson Viganò, Claudia Agnini
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-07-01
Series:Scientific Data
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-05451-5
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author Allyson Viganò
Claudia Agnini
author_facet Allyson Viganò
Claudia Agnini
author_sort Allyson Viganò
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The Mediterranean Sea is a crucial area for studying past climate dynamics due to its unique geography and hydrology. We present PaleoMED20, a paleoclimatic database that spans nearly six decades of research in the Mediterranean, covering the last 20,000 years. With over 1,500 marine sediment cores, it includes oceanographic cruise data and descriptions of the related cores recovered. For each core, we gathered all available information on past environmental variables and their associated climatic indicators (proxies). Metadata were collected from over 400 scientific articles, and a sub-set of 36 well-studied and/or most relevant cores was selected from the total of 1,524 to explore the quality and utility of the database for further studies. Here we present how PaleoMED20 can be used to identify the available key environmental variables and proxies over the last 20,000 years, while also highlighting existing knowledge gaps. This database has the potential to inform future oceanographic expeditions in the Mediterranean and contribute to the development of strategies and policies for climate change mitigation and adaptation.
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spelling doaj-art-ebe962ef1dbd464fb3c1317e3ae9138a2025-08-20T04:01:25ZengNature PortfolioScientific Data2052-44632025-07-0112111810.1038/s41597-025-05451-5Mediterranean marine sediment cores database: unlocking paleoclimatic signals for the last 20,000 yearsAllyson Viganò0Claudia Agnini1Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile, Edile e Ambientale – ICEA, Università di PadovaDipartimento di Geoscienze, Università di PadovaAbstract The Mediterranean Sea is a crucial area for studying past climate dynamics due to its unique geography and hydrology. We present PaleoMED20, a paleoclimatic database that spans nearly six decades of research in the Mediterranean, covering the last 20,000 years. With over 1,500 marine sediment cores, it includes oceanographic cruise data and descriptions of the related cores recovered. For each core, we gathered all available information on past environmental variables and their associated climatic indicators (proxies). Metadata were collected from over 400 scientific articles, and a sub-set of 36 well-studied and/or most relevant cores was selected from the total of 1,524 to explore the quality and utility of the database for further studies. Here we present how PaleoMED20 can be used to identify the available key environmental variables and proxies over the last 20,000 years, while also highlighting existing knowledge gaps. This database has the potential to inform future oceanographic expeditions in the Mediterranean and contribute to the development of strategies and policies for climate change mitigation and adaptation.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-05451-5
spellingShingle Allyson Viganò
Claudia Agnini
Mediterranean marine sediment cores database: unlocking paleoclimatic signals for the last 20,000 years
Scientific Data
title Mediterranean marine sediment cores database: unlocking paleoclimatic signals for the last 20,000 years
title_full Mediterranean marine sediment cores database: unlocking paleoclimatic signals for the last 20,000 years
title_fullStr Mediterranean marine sediment cores database: unlocking paleoclimatic signals for the last 20,000 years
title_full_unstemmed Mediterranean marine sediment cores database: unlocking paleoclimatic signals for the last 20,000 years
title_short Mediterranean marine sediment cores database: unlocking paleoclimatic signals for the last 20,000 years
title_sort mediterranean marine sediment cores database unlocking paleoclimatic signals for the last 20 000 years
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-05451-5
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