PANGAEA Data Repository API

Overview

PANGAEA is the world's leading data repository for earth and environmental sciences, hosting 400K+ datasets with 20B+ data points. It archives research data from oceanography, paleoclimatology, geology, ecology, and atmospheric science. Each dataset has a DOI and is linked to the originating publication. The API provides search, metadata retrieval, and data download. Free, no authentication required.

API Endpoints

Search API

# Search datasets by keyword
curl "https://www.pangaea.de/advanced/search.php?q=ocean+temperature&count=20&type=json"

# Search with geographic bounding box
curl "https://www.pangaea.de/advanced/search.php?\
q=sediment+core&minlat=-60&maxlat=-30&minlon=-180&maxlon=180&type=json"

# Filter by parameter (measurement type)
curl "https://www.pangaea.de/advanced/search.php?\
q=carbon+dioxide&param=Atmospheric+CO2&type=json"

# Filter by date range
curl "https://www.pangaea.de/advanced/search.php?\
q=Arctic+ice&mindate=2020-01-01&maxdate=2026-12-31&type=json"

ElasticSearch API

# Full-text search via Elasticsearch
curl -X POST "https://ws.pangaea.de/es/pangaea/panmd/_search" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "query": {
      "bool": {
        "must": [
          {"match": {"citation.title": "ocean temperature"}}
        ],
        "filter": [
          {"range": {"citation.year": {"gte": 2020}}}
        ]
      }
    },
    "size": 20
  }'

Dataset Access

# Get dataset metadata
curl "https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.123456?format=metainfo_json"

# Download dataset as tab-delimited text
curl "https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.123456?format=textfile"

# Download as CSV
curl "https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.123456?format=csv"

OAI-PMH Harvesting

# List records
curl "https://ws.pangaea.de/oai/provider?verb=ListRecords&metadataPrefix=oai_dc"

# Get specific record
curl "https://ws.pangaea.de/oai/provider?verb=GetRecord&identifier=oai:pangaea.de:doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.123456&metadataPrefix=oai_dc"

Query Parameters (Search API)

Parameter	Description	Example
q	Search query	q=coral+reef+bleaching
count	Results per page	count=50
offset	Pagination offset	offset=20
minlat/maxlat	Latitude bounds	-90 to 90
minlon/maxlon	Longitude bounds	-180 to 180
mindate/maxdate	Temporal filter	2020-01-01
param	Parameter/measurement	Temperature
topic	Topic filter	Atmosphere, Biosphere
type	Response format	json, xml

Python Usage

import requests
import pandas as pd
from io import StringIO

SEARCH_URL = "https://www.pangaea.de/advanced/search.php"
ES_URL = "https://ws.pangaea.de/es/pangaea/panmd/_search"


def search_pangaea(query: str, count: int = 20,
                   bbox: dict = None) -> list:
    """Search PANGAEA for earth science datasets."""
    params = {"q": query, "count": count, "type": "json"}
    if bbox:
        params.update({
            "minlat": bbox.get("south", -90),
            "maxlat": bbox.get("north", 90),
            "minlon": bbox.get("west", -180),
            "maxlon": bbox.get("east", 180),
        })

    resp = requests.get(SEARCH_URL, params=params, timeout=30)
    resp.raise_for_status()
    data = resp.json()

    results = []
    for item in data.get("results", []):
        results.append({
            "doi": item.get("URI", ""),
            "title": item.get("citation", ""),
            "year": item.get("year"),
            "size": item.get("size"),
            "parameters": item.get("params", []),
            "score": item.get("score"),
        })
    return results


def download_dataset(doi: str) -> pd.DataFrame:
    """Download a PANGAEA dataset as a pandas DataFrame."""
    url = f"https://doi.pangaea.de/{doi}?format=textfile"
    resp = requests.get(url, timeout=60)
    resp.raise_for_status()

    lines = resp.text.split("\n")
    header_end = next(
        (i for i, line in enumerate(lines) if line.startswith("*/")),
        -1,
    )
    data_text = "\n".join(lines[header_end + 1:])
    return pd.read_csv(StringIO(data_text), sep="\t")


def search_by_location(query: str, lat: float, lon: float,
                       radius_deg: float = 5.0) -> list:
    """Search datasets near a geographic location."""
    bbox = {
        "south": lat - radius_deg,
        "north": lat + radius_deg,
        "west": lon - radius_deg,
        "east": lon + radius_deg,
    }
    return search_pangaea(query, bbox=bbox)


# Example: find ocean temperature datasets
datasets = search_pangaea("sea surface temperature", count=5)
for ds in datasets:
    print(f"[{ds['year']}] {ds['title'][:80]}...")
    print(f"  DOI: {ds['doi']} | Size: {ds['size']}")

# Example: download a specific dataset
# df = download_dataset("10.1594/PANGAEA.123456")
# print(df.head())

# Example: find Arctic research data
arctic = search_by_location("permafrost", lat=70, lon=25)
for ds in arctic[:3]:
    print(f"{ds['title'][:80]}...")

Data Topics

Topic	Coverage
Oceans	Temperature, salinity, currents, chemistry
Paleoclimate	Ice cores, sediment cores, tree rings
Atmosphere	CO2, aerosols, weather observations
Lithosphere	Geology, tectonics, geochemistry
Biosphere	Biodiversity, ecology, marine biology
Cryosphere	Sea ice, glaciers, permafrost

References

• PANGAEA
• PANGAEA API
• PANGAEA Elasticsearch
• Diepenbroek, M. et al. (2002). "PANGAEA — an information system for environmental sciences." C&G 28(10).