to lithostratigraphic analysis

Abstract: The upper part (0-20 m) of a long piston core from the SE Balearic Abyssal Plain-spanning the past 50 ka- has been studied using the ITRAX micro-XRF core scanner to obtain downcore lemental profiles. The Ca/Fe ratio was found to be an effective parameter to distinguish between turbidites and pelagites, because turbidites generally have higher Fe contents and lower Ca contents compared with pelagic intervals. Beds that were obscure when visually logged could be identified as turbidites or pelagites on their geochemical characteristics, allowing more complete subdivision of the sequence into genetic units. The ITRAX XRF data also provide useful information on textural grading, bioturbative mixing, identification of geochemically distinctive marker beds, indications of differences in provenance, and confirm or query the presence of early arrivals during turbidite emplace-ment. A chronostratigraphic framework for the core based on accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dating and correlation with oxygen isotope stages of pelagic intervals in other cores (using calcium carbonate stratigraphy) was also established. This shows that tur-bidite emplacement on this part of the Balearic Abyssal Plain has been modulated strongly by climate and sea-level change, with turbidite emplacement most frequent during the earl