This study of organic carbon accumulation in marine environments begins with a review of mechanisms controlling organic carbon deposition, concentrating on results from expeditions into Baffin Bay and the Labrador Sea, as well as the Sea of Japan and the northwest coast of Africa. Major objects of the study were the reconstruction of changes in palaeoceanic variables and the history of palaeoclimates in different environments. The contributors also developed more general models for organic carbon accumulation and compared organic-carbon characteristics derived from different analytical techniques in order to reach the best-fitting interpretation model.