10Be meltwater signal in Orca basin sediments,Gulf of Mexico

An increase in the cosmogenic beryllium-10 content of the Orca basin sediments due to the flooding of the Gulf of Mexico (GM) by meltwaters during the late Wisconsin interglacial is reported. A strong negative correlation (γ =-0.99) betweenδ ¹⁸ O (in the range o f-1.5‰ to +0.5‰) and¹⁰Be/Al ratio is seen. During intense flooding reflected by a decrease in δ¹⁸O by ∼ 2‰, this correlation may not hold as some of the sediments with low¹⁰Be/Al ratio and deposited on the shelf and slope regions of the GM during the earlier glacial period would also be washed into the basin. The deposited sediment would then be a mixture with a¹⁰Be/Al ratio lower than expected from the correlation     

墨西哥湾含水合物和油气渗漏区海底表层沉积物中有机质饱和烃组成分布特征研究

报道了采自墨西哥湾富含水合物和油气渗漏区6个海底表层沉积物样品中有机质的丰度、组成和分布特征.研究发现,所分析的6个沉积物样品中有机质的丰度和组成变化很大,其中S-1、S-7和S-9样品中饱和烃的组成分布主要反映了现代海洋沉积有机质及其受细菌微生物改造作用的特征,而S-8、S-10和S-11样品中饱和烃组成以特征的石油污染成因的不可分辨的混合物(UCM)为主,相关甾萜类参数也表明沉积物受到原油渗漏或泄露污染;另一方面,S-8和S-11样品中正构烷烃不同程度的缺失表明有机质遭受了较为强烈的的生物降解作用.仅在S-1沉积物中鉴定出了与甲烷古细菌厌氧氧化有关的特征标志物--2,6,10,15,19-五甲基二十烯烃系列化合物(PMI△)并且具有极负的碳同位素组成,这表明S-1样品所在海底可能有天然气水合物的产出.     

Total mercury and methylmercury in sediments near offshore drilling sites in the Gulf of Mexico

Concentrations of total Hg in sediments near six drilling sites in the Gulf of Mexico were elevated well above average background values of 40–80 ng/g. The excess Hg was associated with barite from discharged drilling mud. In contrast with total Hg, concentrations of methylmercury (MeHg) in these sediments did not vary significantly at nearfield (<100 m) versus farfield (>3 km) distances from the drilling sites. Observed variability in concentrations of MeHg were related to local differences in redox state in the top 10 cm of sediment. Low to non-detectable concentrations of MeHg were found in nearfield sediments that were anoxic, highly reducing and contained abundant H₂S. At most drilling sites, nearfield samples with high concentrations of total Hg (>200 ng/g) had similar or lower amounts of MeHg than found at background (farfield) stations. Higher values of MeHg were found in a few nearfield sediments at one site where concentrations of TOC were higher and where sediments were anoxic and moderately reducing. Overall, results from this study support the conclusion that elevated concentrations of MeHg in sediments around drilling sites are not a common phenomenon in the Gulf of Mexico.     

Chronology of glacial Lake Agassiz meltwater routed to the Gulf of Mexico

Sediment cores with new radiocarbon dates from the southern outlet of glacial Lake Agassiz indicate that meltwater delivery to the Mississippi valley was disrupted at 10,800 ¹⁴C yr B.P. and the outlet was abandoned by 9400 ¹⁴C yr B.P. These findings confirm the timing of generally accepted terminations of the Lockhart and Emerson Phases of Lake Agassiz. Additionally, the radiocarbon chronology indicates that the spillway was fully formed by 10,800 ¹⁴C yr B.P. and that the occupancy in late-Emerson time was likely short-lived with minimal spillway erosion.     

Oil seepage and carbonate formation: A case study from the southern Gulf of Mexico

Oil seeps from the southern Gulf of Mexico can be regarded as natural laboratories where the effect of crude oil seepage on chemosynthesis‐based communities and carbonate precipitation can be studied. During R/V Meteor cruise 114 the seep sites UNAM (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México) Ridge, Mictlan Knoll and Tsanyao Yang Knoll (Bay of Campeche, southern Gulf of Mexico) were investigated and sampled for authigenic carbonate deposits containing large amounts of liquid oil and solid asphalt. The δ¹³C values of individual carbonate phases including: (i) microcrystalline matrix aragonite and calcite; (ii) grey, cryptocrystalline to microcrystalline aragonite; and (iii) clear, fibrous aragonite cement, are between ?30‰ and ?20‰, agreeing with oil as the primary carbon source. Raman spectra reveal that residual heavy oils from all sites are immature and most likely originate from the same reservoir. Geochemical batch modelling using the software code PHREEQC demonstrates how sulphate‐driven oxidation of oil‐derived low‐molecular to high‐molecular weight hydrocarbons affects carbonate saturation state, and shows that the oxidation state of carbon in hydrocarbon compounds and oxidation rates of hydrocarbons control carbonate saturation and precipitation at oil seeps. Phase‐specific trace and rare earth element contents of microcrystalline aragonite and calcite, grey cryptocrystalline aragonite and clear aragonite were determined, revealing enrichment in light rare earth elements for grey aragonite. By comparing trace element patterns of carbonates with those of associated oils, it becomes apparent that liquid hydrocarbons constitute an additional source of trace metals to sedimentary pore waters. This work not only demonstrates that the microbial degradation of oil at seeps may result in the precipitation of carbonate minerals, it also elucidates that trace metal inventories of seep carbonates archive diagnostic elemental patterns, which can be assigned to the presence of heavy hydrocarbons in interstitial pore waters.     

子波法去鬼波在墨西哥湾的应用

海洋深水地震资料鬼波发育,造成地质假象,严重影响油田的勘探开发.分析地震资料采集环境及采集特征,采用子波法压制鬼波,在Echos(地震资料处理软件)处理平台上,利用采集设计子波,计算反褶积算子,再将压制鬼波算子应用于实际地震资料.鬼波压制后频率域陷波点得到有效补偿,单炮及叠加剖面上鬼波被有效压制,资料品质得到明显改善,利于构造解释及储层研究.     

Sediments in the estuarine environment of the tigris/euphrates delta; Iraq; Arabian Gulf

Studies on surface water characters of the estuarine environment of Iraq, northwestern Arabian Gulf, define three subdivisions of salinity: oligohaline, polyhaline, and euhaline. Textural analysis reveals that surface sediments covering the bottom are composed of six distinct classes: silty clay, clayey silt, sand-silt-clays, clayey sand, silty sand and sand. Five physiographic subdivisions are identified and described fluvial-estuarine, tidal mud flats (subtidal flat, lower intertidal flat, upper intertidal flat, supratidal flat), sand bars, Abdallah-Shetana channel and submerged estuarine distributary channel and bar systems. The content of organic matter in the sediments ranges from 0.24-3.69 per cent by weight. High values were recorded from the Abdallah-Shetana channel while lower values are confined to sand bars and submerged estuarine distributary channel and bar systems. Carbonates, quartz, feldspar, and halite are the main mineral constituents of the non-clay grade sediments; carbonates are present mainly as low-magnesium calcite followed by dolomite and high-magnesium calcite. Aragonite is present only in trace amounts. Both detrital and biogenic sources are suggested for low-magnesium calcite. A detrital source for dolomite and a biogenic source for high-magnesium calcite and aragonite are proposed.     

Methane-derived authigenic carbonates from the northern Gulf of Mexico — MD02 Cruise

Authigenic carbonates were sampled in piston cores collected from both the Tunica Mound and the Mississippi Canyon area on the continental slope of the northern Gulf of Mexico during a Marion Dufresne cruise in July 2002. The carbonates are present as hardgrounds, porous crusts, concretions or nodules and shell fragments with or without carbonate cements. Carbonates occurred at gas venting sites which are likely to overlie gas hydrates bearing sediments. Electron microprobe, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and thinsection investigations show that these carbonates are high-Mg calcite (6–21 mol% MgCO₃), with significant presence of framboidal pyrite. All carbonates are depleted in ¹³C (δ¹³C = − 61.9 to − 31.5‰ PDB) indicating that the carbon is derived mainly from anaerobic methane oxidation (AMO). Age estimates based on ¹⁴C dating of shell fragments and on regional sedimentation rates indicate that these authigenic carbonates formed within the last 1000 yr in the Mississippi Canyon and within 5500 yr at the Tunica Mound. The oxygen isotopic composition of carbonates ranges from + 3.4 to + 5.9‰ PDB. Oxygen isotopic compositions and Mg²⁺ contents of carbonates, and present in-situ temperatures of bottom seawater/sediments, show that some of these carbonates, especially from a core associated with underlying massive gas hydrates precipitated in or near equilibrium with bottom-water. On the other hand, those carbonates more enriched in ¹⁸O are interpreted to have precipitated from ¹⁸O-rich fluids which are thought to have been derived from the dissociation of gas hydrates. The dissociation of gas hydrates in the northern Gulf of Mexico within the last 5500 yr may be caused by nearby salt movement and related brines.     

Spatial trends in the geochemical composition of sediments in the Panuco River discharge area, Gulf of Mexico.

Major and trace elements, organic matter, carbonates, loss of ignition, grain size, gravel, sand, silt, clay, and qualitative mineralogical composition were determined on surficial marine sediments sampled during the stormy (February), dry (May), and rainy (September) seasons in the coastal area adjacent to Panuco River discharges into the Gulf of Mexico. The sediments supplied by the river move in a north-east direction, and are deposited in the north-east extreme of the studied area. Terrigenous sediments show a strong association of Al₂O₃ with Fe₂O₃, Na₂O, K₂O, P₂O₅, Rb, Cu, Zn, organic matter, clay, and grain size (Mz). Mineralogical analysis shows that they are formed by quartz, kaolinite, montmorillonite, illite-montmorillonite and biotite. The highest metal concentration of Cu (25 mg/kg), Zn (155 mg/kg), Pb (50 mg/kg) and organic matter (1.26%) was observed in the sampling points located very close to the river mouth. A statistical analysis was done with the information contained in the variables. Five significant factors explain 77% of the total variance: factor 1 is due to sediments from a terrigenous source, factor 2 corresponds to sediments from a biogenous source, factor 3 is associated to sediments with heavy minerals, factor 4 is due to Co concentration, and factor 5 is due to Ni concentration. The sediments supplied from the river had a short-term local impact on the sediment distribution, as observed by the carbonate and heavy mineral concentration of the sediments.     

Climate and ocean variability during the middle and late Holocene recorded in laminated sediments from Alfonso Basin, Gulf of California, Mexico

A laminated sequence (core BAP96-CP 24°38.12′N, 110°33.24′W; 390 m depth) from the Alfonso Basin in Bay of La Paz, southern Gulf of California, contains a record of paleoceanographic and paleoclimatic changes of the past 7900 yr. Radiolarian assemblages and magnetic susceptibility are used as proxies of oceanographic and climatic variability. The records provide a regional scenario of the middle and late Holocene, suggesting two major climatic regimes and several millennial-scale events. Conditions relatively warmer and drier than today occurred from 7700 to 2500 cal yr BP, promoting the intensification of evaporation processes and the prevalence of the Gulf of California water in the Basin. These conditions correlate with strong droughts in the middle Holocene of North America and with minimal incursion of tropical waters into the Gulf of California. Proxies indicate a warm scenario and the dominance of the Equatorial Surface Water in the Alfonso Basin from 2400 to 700 cal yr BP, suggesting the intensification of ENSO cycles. A climatic signal between 1038 and 963 cal yr BP may be correlated with global signal of the “Medieval Warm Period.” Several cooling events are recognized at 5730, 3360, 2700, 1280 and 820 cal yr BP and are associated with intensification of northwest winds leading to upwellings and enhanced productivity in the Basin.     

墨西哥湾GC238区冷泉碳酸盐岩的微结构与石化微生物特征

采于墨西哥湾GC238海底天然气渗漏区浅表层的冷泉碳酸盐岩呈结核状产出,由方解石微晶和胶结物及少量的黄铁矿构成。胶结物由直径为0.1～0.5m的方解石化的球体、卵形体、棒状体组成,充填于方解石晶体之间。冷泉碳酸盐岩结核下表面发育有由方解石化的球体、卵形体、棒状体组成的薄层,其中的一些球状集合体(约5m)断面显示发育有核和外壳的层圈结构。黄铁矿呈草莓状,也具有相似的层圈结构。这种层状结构与活体古细菌被硫酸盐还原细菌包裹的层圈结构相似。样品中所保存的球体、卵形体、棒状体及其所组成的层圈结构可能是石化的甲烷氧化古细菌和硫酸盐还原细菌。     

A 1200-year proxy record of hurricanes and fires from the Gulf of Mexico coast: Testing the hypothesis of hurricane-fire interactions

We present here the first high-resolution pollen record of vegetation response to interactions of hurricane and fire disturbances over the past 1200 yr from a small lake in Alabama on the Gulf of Mexico coast. The paleotempestological record inferred from the overwash sand layers suggests that the Alabama coast was directly struck by Saffir-Simpson category 4 or 5 hurricanes twice during the last 1200 yr, around 1170 and 860 cal yr BP, suggesting an annual landfall probability of 0.17% for these intense hurricanes. The charcoal data suggest that intense fires occurred after each of these hurricanes. The pollen data suggest that populations of halophytic plants (Chenopodiaceae) and heliophytic shrubs (Myrica) expanded after the hurricane strikes, probably due to saltwater intrusion into the marshes and soil salinization caused by overwash processes. Populations of pines (Pinus sp.) decreased significantly after each intense hurricane and the ensuing intense fire, suggesting that repeated hurricane-fire interactions resulted in high tree mortality and probably impeded recruitment and recovery. Our data support the hypothesis that the likelihood and intensity of fire increased significantly after a major hurricane, producing responses by vegetation that are more complex and unpredictable than if the disturbance agents were acting singly and independently.     

Study on System of Faults in the Gulf of Mexico and Adjacent Region based on Gravity Data

In the Gulf of Mexico and adjacent landmasses,faults are very complex,and their distribution is closely related to plate tectonics,ocean-land boundary,and former structure.The plane position of the faults can be identified by the maximum characteristic of the vertical derivative of the normalized vertical derivative of the total horizontal derivative(NVDR-THDR)of the Bouguer gravity anomaly.The apparent depth of the faults is inverted by the Bouguer gravity anomaly curvature property.Based on tectonic evolutionary processes and the plane distribution and apparent depth characteristics of the faults,a complete fault system for the Gulf of Mexico and adjacent areas has been established,including 102 faults.The apparent depths of 33 first-class faults are 16-20 km and for 69 second-class faults are 12-16 km.The F_1-2and F_1-3subduction fault zones are two caused by the subduction of the Cocos Plate into the old Yucatan and Chorti landmasses;F_1-11and F_1-12fault zones extend westward to the coast of Guatemala and do not extend into the continent;F_1-17and F_1-20faults,which control the boundary of the oceanic crust,do not extend southward into the continent.The fault system,which radiates in a"fan-shaped"structure as a whole,unfolds to the northeast.Faults of different nature and sizes are distributed in the Cocos Plate subduction zone,Continental,Gulf of Mexico,Yucatan old landmass and Caribbean Plate in NW,NNW,NS,NE and NEE directions.In the Gulf of Mexico region,the fault system is a comprehensive reflection of former tectonic movements,such as plate movement,drift of old landmasses and expansion of oceanic crusts.The first-class faults control the plate and ocean-continental boundaries.The second-class faults are subordinate to the first-class faults or related to the distribution of different sedimentary layers.     

Holocene laminated sediments from the southern Gulf of California: geochemical,mineral magnetic and microfossil study

Geochemical, magnetic mineral analyses and microfossils (radiolarians) are used to characterise a Holocene laminated sequence from the Alfonso Basin, northern Bay of La Paz, southern Gulf of California. In most cases, dark and light laminae show similar bulk chemical compositions and magnetic mineral properties. However, dark laminae contain relatively more terrigenous elements (Al, Si, Fe, K and Mg) supporting a pluvial origin related to the volcanic siliceous tuffs around the Bay of La Paz. In light laminae, calcium content is higher, representing biogenic input. The magnetic signal is dominated by low coercivity, fine‐grained low‐titanium titanomagnetites and magnetite. Hysteresis ratio parameters in domain state plots show that samples fall in the pseudo‐single domain field, indicating mixtures of single‐ and multi‐domain particles. Variations in hysteresis saturation magnetisation parameters for dark and light laminae reflect changes in relative mineral concentration. Results indicate a dominant volcanic source for magnetic minerals into the basin, associated with variable pluvial and/or aeolian transport. Low radiolarian abundance in dark laminae seems to be associated with larger penetration and longer residence time of oligotrophic subtropical waters into the bay that occurred during El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events. Light laminae are the result of episodic pulses of high productivity. We suggest that dark/light laminae result from oceanographic and climatic cyclic processes, with main terrigenous input variation possibly associated with ENSO forcing of pluvial influx, and/or latitudinal migration of the Intertropical Convergence Zone. The laminated sequence of the Alfonso Basin formed a non‐annual depositional system, in contrast to the varved sediments characteristic of the central Gulf of California basins. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Discussion of: Ortega-Flores et al. (2018) Provenance analysis of Oligocene sandstone from the Cerro Pelón area,southern Gulf of Mexico.https://doi.org/10.1080/00206814.2018.1476922

ABSTRACT

We discuss the 2018 publication that reports petrographic, heavy mineral data, mineral chemistry, and zircon geochronology for Oligocene sandstones in the Cerro Pelón area in southern Mexico Sureste basin. As the title of their paper says, the goal of their study is to establish the source (s) of the voluminous Cenozoic section in this region, reaching several kilometres in thickness and important as a petroleum system. These authors conclude that Oligocene sandstones of La Laja Formation were mostly sourced from eclogite- to greenschist-facies metasedimentary, metaigneous, and ultramafic rocks of the Guatemala suture complex. Minor contributions from the Chiapas Massif Complex, exposed directly to the south ~60 km of the Cerro Pelón area, were also suggested by the authors. They thus conclude that the Palaeogene stratigraphic record in southeastern Mexico was mostly controlled by the development of the Caribbean–North America plate boundary rather than by orogenic processes at the Pacific margin of North America. Presently, we do not agree with the conclusions of Ortega Flores and colleagues who studied the Cerro Pelón section, thus some discussion is required. Serpentinite bearing Nanchital Conglomerate is well exposed in the Cerro Pelón area, and high- to low-grade metamorphic rocks experienced an uplift in the vicinity of the Cerro Pelón area at the time of deposition of the La Laja Formation. We believe the data are better explained by multiple local sources in southern and eastern Oaxaca as well as sources to the south and southwest, which include the Cenozoic coastal batholith, the Grenvillean/Guichicovi basement complexes, the Chiapas Massif, the Mazatlán schist and other units in the Cuicateco Belt, as well as the Mesozoic cover of these areas (Todos Santos Formation, Cretaceous carbonate rocks, and Paleogene strata such as the Soyaló and Bosque Formations).     

盐构造与深水重力流的相互作用及响应

在发育盐构造的被动大陆边缘盆地中,明确盐构造活动与深水重力流事件的沉积耦合特征是该类盆地相对优质储层和甜点区预测、评价的基础。通过综合钻井、岩心分析和三维地震精细解释,对墨西哥湾Sureste盆地中新统深水重力流沉积与盐构造之间的作用方式及响应进行研究,并探讨不同作用方式的成因及油气地质意义。研究表明,Sureste盆地陆坡区发育一系列与盐构造活动相关的微盆、地形坡折、局部凸起和弯曲通道等地貌单元;在这种复杂陆坡地貌背景下,早期和同沉积期盐构造既可以疏导或限制重力流,形成导向、限定、局限和侧向迁移等多种作用类型,也可以被重力流侵蚀形成不整合,后期盐构造活动对深水重力流沉积的改造表现为截切和变形两种样式;不同作用方式和匹配关系受重力流的性质、侵蚀能力与盐构造的规模、数量、走向以及活动时间和强度的控制,局限、侵蚀和截切对应了盐构造与深水重力流沉积相互作用的三个端元;早期和同沉积期盐构造活动影响深水碎屑岩储层的质量和分布,后期盐构造活动对构造、构造—岩性圈闭的形成至关重要。     

铁元素对海相沉积物早期成岩作用的影响

铁元素是地壳中丰度最高的元素之一,在海相沉积物成岩过程中起着非常重要的作用.铁元素作为海洋初级生产力的微营养元素,影响海相沉积物中有机质的输入,其在早期成岩阶段与硫化物和磷元素的耦合关系,可以促进或者降低有机质的保存;铁元素在海相沉积物早期成岩过程中可以改变孔隙水的化学性质,影响亚稳定碳酸盐矿物的保存,导致碳酸盐沉积物...     

An alternative Pangea reconstruction for Middle America with the Chortis Block in the Gulf of Mexico: tectonic implications

Understanding Pangea breakup requires a robust reconstruction, and this article focuses on the Middle America sector of the supercontinent. Although most Pangean reconstructions locate the Yucatan Block along the southern USA, the Chortis Block is generally placed off southern Mexico (Pacific model), undergoing sinistral relative motion during the Mesozoic and Cenozoic. However, the Pacific model is inconsistent with the absence of a Cenozoic fault linking the Cayman transforms and the Middle America Trench. We present an alternative Pangean reconstruction, where both the Yucatan and Chortis Blocks are placed in the future Gulf of Mexico, moving Mexico westwards along the Mojave–Sonora megashear to accommodate overlap with South America. Subsequent Mesozoic and Cenozoic evolution is inferred to have occurred in two stages: (i) Jurassic clockwise rotation along the Mojave–Sonora and West Florida megashears, followed by (ii) Cenozoic anticlockwise rotation along the Sierra Madre Oriental and East Yucatan megashears. The first stage is linked to the breakup of Pangea where the Gulf of Mexico formed as a pull-apart basin. The second stage is related to the evolution of the Caribbean where the Chortis and Yucatan Blocks rotated into the trailing side of the Caribbean Plate (pirate model). The new reconstruction is consistent with major parameters, such as (i) gravity, magnetic, and palaeomagnetic data; (ii) the westward continuation of the Cayman transform faults through the Chiapas foldbelt and along the N–S front of the Sierra Madre Oriental foldbelt; (iii) the 27–19 Ma removal of the southern Mexican forearc; (iv) offset of the Cretaceous volcanic arc (Guerrero-Suina); (v) the deflection of the Laramide orogen (Sierra Madre Oriental–Zongolica–Colon); and (vi) the continuity of Cretaceous platformal carbonates containing Caribbean fauna across Middle America. In this latter context, the Motagua high-pressure belt is interpreted as a Cretaceous extrusion zone into the upper plate above a subduction zone rather than as an oceanic suture.     

Reply to Molina-Garza et al. (2019) “Discussion of: Ortega-Flores et al. (2018) provenance analysis of Oligocene sandstone from the Cerro Pelón area,southern Gulf of Mexico”

ABSTRACT

The origin of the Oligocene turbidites from the Cerro Pelón area in south Gulf Mexico proposed by Ortega-Flores et al. (2018) is in disagree with the interpretations made by Molina-Garza et al. (2019), which main criticism is based on U-Pb ages of detrital zircons from the matrix of a conglomerate unit, which they refer to as ‘Nanchital Conglomerate’, as well as on the presence of limestone, gabbros, and mafic protolith-derived clasts. Molina-Garza et al. (2019) basically interpret the Nanchital Conglomerate as Miocene in age, which was sourced mainly from metamorphic complexes including their sedimentary covers located to the west and south of the Cerro Pelón area. For some reason, Molina-Garza et al. (2019) suppose that the Nanchital Conglomerate should have the same provenance sources that the Oligocene turbidites from Cerro Pelón area, reported by Ortega-Flores et al. (2018). Based on the foregoing, we strongly disagree with Molina-Garza et al. (2019) considering that, from the beginning, they intend to compare two units of different age. Additionally, the scarce data reported from both the matrix and the clasts of the Nanchital Conglomerate are not determinant for interpreting the provenance of this conglomeratic unit and subsequently, to consider the same rock sources from the Oligocene through Miocene time.     

Analysis of the Major Fe Bearing Mineral Phases in Recent Lake Sediments by EXAFS Spectroscopy

Extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy and chemical analyses were combined to determine the Fe bearing minerals in recent lake sediments from Baldeggersee (Switzerland). The upper section of a laminated sediment core, deposited under eutrophic conditions, was compared to the lower part from an oligotrophic period. Qualitative analysis of FeK EXAFS agreed well with chemical data: In the oligotrophic section Fe(II)–O and Fe(III)–O specieswere present, whereas a significant fraction of Fe(II)–S sulfides was strongly indicated in the eutrophic part. A statistical analysis was performed by least square fitting of normalized reference spectra. The set of reference minerals included Fe(III) oxides and Fe(II) sulfides, carbonates and phosphates. In the oligotrophic regime no satisfying fit was obtained using the set of reference spectra, indicating that siderite (FeCO₃) was not present in a significant amount in these carbonate-rich sediments. Simulated EXAFS spectra for a(Ca_x, Fe_1-x)CO₃solid solution allowed reconstructing the specificfeatures of the experimental spectra, suggesting that this phase was the dominant Fe carrier in the oligotrophic section of the core. In the eutrophic part, mackinawite was positively identified and represented the dominant Fe(II) sulfide phase. This finding agreed with chemical extraction, which indicated that18–40 mol% of Fe was contained in the acid volatile iron sulfide fraction. EXAFS spectra of the eutrophic section were best fitted by considering the admixture of mackinawite and the Fe–Ca carbonate phase inferred to be predominant in the oligotrophic regime.