Benthic foraminifera census data of sediment core GeoTü SL78

The data set contains census counts of deep-sea benthic foraminifera from sediment core GeoTü SL78. Given are counted individuals of benthic foraminiferal taxa versus sediment depth in cm below sea floor. The counts are based on representative splits of the size fraction >125 µm. The original counting was performed in 2010, a taxonomic revision was carried out in 2022. Gravity core GeoTü SL78, also referred to as M40/4-SL78-3, was retrieved during R.V. METEOR cruise M40/4 in 1998 (Hieke et al., 1999) from the upper bathyal Strait of Sicily in the central Mediterranean Sea, at 37°02.2'N, 13°11.4'E, 467 m water depth, core recovery 5.32 m. The sediment core was retrieved for the reconstruction of circulation and productivity changes in the in the eastern and central Mediterranean Sea during the last glacial and Holocene with particular focus on the formation of sapropel S1.