Geochemical composition of inorganic silicate fraction of surface sediment samples collected along a 131.5°W transect in the central Pacific

This dataset includes neodymium isotope ratios and La, Yb, Sc, and Th concentrations of inorganic silicate fractions of surface sediments from the central Pacific, with relevant sampling information. The aim of the study is to identify latitudinal changes in hemispheric dust provenance. 16 sediment cores were collected along a 131.5°W transect from the equator to 16°N at ~1º intervals using a multiple corer and a piston corer on the R/V Onnuri during KODOS03-03 cruise (2003.07.03-2003.08.01; Chief Scientist: Woong-Seo Kim) and KODOS05-01 cruise (2005.07.17-2005.08.15; Chief Scientist: Woong-Seo Kim). Subsamples were taken at 1 cm intervals from the split cores, and those obtained within the top 10 cm of the cores (usually within the top 3 cm) were used to extract the inorganic silicate fraction. The inorganic silicate fractions of bulk sediments were isolated by sequential dissolution with 25% acetic acid, hot sodium citrate-sodium dithionite solution buffered with sodium bicarbonate, and hot sodium hydroxide solution. The elemental composition of the inorganic silicate fraction was determined using a quadrupole ICP-MS following conventional acid digestion. 143Nd/144Nd ratios were determined via multi-collector thermal ionization mass spectrometer using standard cation exchange techniques