During the next two years we propose to develop, refine and test a detailed model of the sedimentation history of the central North Pacific. With this model we will be able to characterize the marine geochemical behavior of a large number of minor and trace elements which are presently poorly understood. The model will be based on a detailed data base including all available chemical, stratigraphic, mineralogic and physical data for piston core LL44-GPC3. The primary difference between this study and other previous studies of pelagic clay sequences, is the size and temporal resolution of the chemical database which includes analyses of 39 elements of -450 samples representing the last 70 Ma. These data will allow distinction of more sedimentary chemical components with greater precision and much greater stratigraphic resolution than any previous study of pelagic clays. The resulting sedimentation model will provide a detailed, internally consistent, and testable picture of the tectonic, climatic, oceanic, and diagenetic processes which have affected the central North Pacific over the last 70 Ma. We believe that the final geochemical model when combined with the extraordinary amount of ancillary data available for the core will also allow sedimentologists to make a quantum leap in the understanding the relationships between the chemistry of pelagic clay sequences, their mineralogy, their rock magnetic properties, and their physical properties.
