Calcareous nannofossils are abundant to very abundant throughout the entire section. The changes in planktonic foraminifer species indicate a northward shift in position of the Benguela Current associated with a shift in Southern Ocean circulation, or a reduced seasonality in southerly penetration of the Angola Current. Alternatively, the biotic change may indicate increased advection of Southern Ocean water in the Benguela Current system, or a combination of all factors. Radiolarians are present throughout. In most of the investigated samples, radiolarians are abundant, and preservation is good.
Diatom preservation is moderate.
As was the case for Sites 1081 and 1082, the record of diatom abundance points to high deposition rates during the late Pliocene and early Pleistocene. The diatom assemblage is similar to that at Sites 1081 and 1082 and consists mainly of a mixture of upwelling-indicators and oceanic species. Most interstitial water chemical trends are intermediate between the neighboring Walvis Sites 1081 and 1082. The concentration of interstitial water strontium reaches a maximum that is two to three times higher than that observed at Sites 1081 and 1082, reflecting the greater availability of biogenic calcite at Site 1083. Physical sediment properties were determined both by high-resolution MST core logging and index properties measurements.