DOI: 10.60871/ingpan/a24e8o
title: Replication Data for: Radmacher, W., Head, M. J., Kaczmarczyk, G. P., Mikołajczak, M., Włodek, A., Spadło, A., ... & Caruso, A. (2025). First application of high-resolution X-ray computed tomography to quantify the fossil record of foraminifera: The Nicola bed, Monte San Nicola, Sicily; type area for the Quaternary System. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 174, 107283. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2024.107283

description: For the publication listed above, no datasets were generated other than those included in the articles themselves and three-dimensional computed tomography scans, which cannot be deposited in an open repository. These scans constitute volumetric data of very high resolution, requiring significantly more storage space than is available in the repository. A detailed description of the collected data and information on where they are deposited has been provided herein.

Blocks were collected from Monte San Nicola and Mandorlo sections, southern Sicily, Italy. Their large size, around 41 × 17 × 17 cm, made it ideal for X-ray 3D computed tomography studies through the sapropelic Nicola bed marking the end of Neogene. Each block, have been positioned vertically within the tomographic chamber. It was rotated 360° along its vertical axis while being exposed to radiation from a 220 kV and 240 μA microfocus tube. The tomographic scans involved acquiring several thousand X-ray projections, captured by a flat panel detector. The accuracy of the acquired data depends on the sample's positioning within the chamber, following projection principles. The voxel volume was 0.125³ mm³. Whereas the detector is square-shaped, the sample block is elongated vertically, necessitating the use of the Multiscan function for automated scanning along its length. The scanning progressed from the base upwards, conducting three full measurements. Upon completion of each scan, the block automatically descended for the subsequent scan. Post-scanning, 3D reconstructions of the block's entire volume were achieved using the filtered back projection method. The computer program analysed the 2D projections to generate 3D data, applying data corrections such as beam hardening correction automatic geometry correction (agc), and scan optimization filters to enhance image quality. The linear attenuation coefficient, as per the Beer-Lambert law, depends on density, atomic number, and attenuation types. Tomographic images depict objects with higher density as light fields and those with lower density as dark fields. For instance, voids within sediment appear dark, while objects filled with materials denser than the matrix appear light. VGStudio MAX 3.5.1 software facilitated data reconstruction and subsequent volumetric analysis. Two regions of interest (ROI) measuring 20 × 20 × 20 mm3 were identified to avoid fracture zones, along with another ROI at a site exhibiting a characteristic trace fossil. Additionally, a cross-sectional ROI measuring 20 × 20 mm2 was introduced throughout the block's height. Volumetric analysis commenced with material isosurface determination, followed by porosity analysis using the VGDefX procedure. Block porosity was determined with an isovalue parameter of 29.640, and filtration was applied, considering significant spots no smaller than 8 voxels. Furthermore, the same algorithm facilitated inclusion analysis, defining inclusions as objects with absorbability surpassing the isovalue parameter of 32.560. The data are kept in the contractor’s archive and are available from the authors upon reasonable request. The data were generated as part of the Sonata research project no. 2022/47/D/ST10/01103 funded by the National Science Centre, Poland.