VARIATIONS IN FE3O4 AND CACO3 CONTENTS IN DEEP-SEA CORES FROM THE WESTERN EQUATORIAL PACIFIC

An inverse correlation between the CaCO3 and magnetic mineral contents was obtained from deep-sea sediment cores taken from the western equa torial Pacific, in which the predominant magnetic mineral is of bacter ial origin. It is shown that the fluctuations of the relative concentr ation of magnetite over a period of time are caused solely by variatio ns in CaCO3 dissolution in the relatively deep sea bottom. This conclu sion seems to explain the observed result that fluctuations in the int ensity of saturation isothermal remanence are concordant in two adjace nt cores with different sedimentation rates.