Japan Marine Science and Technology Center, Japan

Depth profiles of major element and rare earth element (REE) abundances in sediment samples (mainly siliceous ooze and clay) recovered from Holes 1179B and 1179C at Site 1179, Ocean Drilling Program Leg 191 (41.4 degrees N, 159.6 degrees E) were determined. The oxidation states of Mn and Ce were determined by X-ray absorption near-edge structure. Some geochemical indicators were tested, including the MnO/TiO (sub 2) ratios, a bivariate diagram of La/Ce vs. Al (sub 2) O (sub 3) /(Al (sub 2) O (sub 3) +Fe (sub 2) O (sub 3) ), and other discrimination diagrams. The oxidation state of Mn is reduced Mn(II) in the depth profile below 0.60 meters below seafloor (mbsf), which is consistent with relatively low and high abundances of Mn in the sediments and pore waters, respectively. It is possible that the diagenetic effect on the oxidation state and abundance of Mn makes it difficult for the MnO/TiO (sub 2) ratio to reflect the depositional environment. The normalized ratio of La and Ce does not change very much with depth, suggesting that the diagenetic effect does not affect the REE signature in the sediments. On the diagram of La/Ce vs. Al (sub 2) O (sub 3) /(Al (sub 2) O (sub 3) +Fe (sub 2) O (sub 3) ), the sediments studied here plot at the boundary of the pelagic and continental margin fields. This suggests that continental material has contributed to the sediment to some degree, even though Site 1179 is in a pelagic region of the northwestern Pacific Ocean, >1600 km from Japan.