A nearly complete section of Eocene to Oligocene sediments was recovered in the South Atlantic at ODP Sites 522 and 523. Preliminary analysis by Drs. Herbert and Tauxe of selected intervals at Site 522 has revealed frequencies in rock magnetic parameters that appear to match frequencies known to occur in the Earth's orbit around the sun. These researcher will now extend their studies to include the Eocene-Oligocene boundary at these sites and at nearby DSDP Site 322. Their goal is to detail features of the climatic changes that occurred across this boundary a time thought by many to mark the onset of dramatic cooling in the deep ocean and the beginning of Antarctic glaciation. Their rock magnetic data will be calibrated with carbonate measurements to provide temporal resolution on the order of 10 Kyrs. In addition, image analyses and faunal dissolution studies will be conducted to assess the control over carbonate cycles imparted by changes in carbonate productivity, dissolution, and detrital flux.
