Susceptibility of 21 sediment cores from Maria S. Merian cruise MSM39

The sediment series recovered during MERIAN Cruise MSM 39 by gravity coring were subject to routine magnetic susceptibility loggin, which was usually performed on the closed full cores. The magnetic volume susceptibility κ of marine sediment is primarily determined by its ferrimagnetic mineral content; paramagnetic matrix components such as clays are of minor importance. As a dimensionless quantity, κ may vary from an absolute minimum value of -15∙10-6 for diamagnetic minerals (such as pure carbonate or silicate) to a maximum of some 10⋅10-3 for sediments rich in ferrimagnetic (titano-)magnetite (of as magmatic sources). Enhanced susceptibilities indicate higher concentrations of lithogenic components (here mainly magmatic-sourced, ice-rafted materials) versus diamagnetic matrix materials (calcite, quartz, water etc.). This relation is very useful for correlating sedimentary sequences deposited under similar global or regional conditions.