Data can be georeferenced in time (date/time or geological age) and space (latitude, longitude, depth/height).
Data are in Open Access and are distributed through web services in standard formats on the Internet through various search engines and portals.
Retrieval of data sets is provided through a full text search engine (based on Apache Lucene / panFMP).
Data descriptions are available through various protocols (OAI-PMH, Web Catalog Service).
PANGAEA is hosted by the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), Bremerhaven and the MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, Bremen in Germany.