Bulk chemical composition of pelagic sediment samples from the Central Pacific Basin, GH 79-1 detailed survey area

Sediment samples from three box cores and one piston core, collected on cruise GH79-1 of the research vessel Hakurei-Maru, were analyzed for major oxides and minor elements. All cores were collected from a small area of the Central Pacific Ocean, centered at 167°40'W and 10°N. The concentrations of 10 elements (Si, Al, Fe, Mg, Ca, Na, K, Ti, P, and Mn) were determined for 15 bulk sediment samples using X-ray fluorescence. Between the four sites, compositional ratios exhibit a longitudinal trend. This east-west trend in the composition of the ISF may be related to a decreasing influence of continentally derived material from east to west. The ISF at DOMES Site C, the easternmost of these four locations, most closely resembles the composition of terrigenous mud. An increase in the relative contribution of basaltic debris, from east to west, may be one factor contributing to the relative increases of Fe2O3, MgO, CaO, and TiO2 and the decrease in total alkalies along this same trend.