We expect a close tie-in of climatic records from the continent and the ocean in this area. Site 1076, in connection with Sites 1075 and 1078 in the Lower Congo Basin, will allow us to reconstruct the changing influence of Congo River coastal upwelling and open-ocean contributions to the dynamics of the region. Drilling at Site 1076 recovered a relatively continuous hemipelagic sedimentary section spanning the last 1.5-1.6 m.y. of the Pleistocene. Small shell fragments are present in many intervals. The biogenic portion of the sediment contains rare to abundant diatoms with rare nannofossils, silicoflagellates, siliceous sponge spicules, phytoliths, and traces of radiolarian and foraminifer fragments.
Diatoms are abundant in both greenish gray and olive-gray intervals.
Authigenic components are dominated by the presence of glauconite, dolomite, and iron sulfides. Rare, friable nodules, possibly phosphatic, are sometimes disseminated throughout certain intervals. Detailed comparisons between the magnetic susceptibility record generated on the MST and high resolution color reflectance measured with the Minolta spectrophotometer demonstrated complete recovery of the sedimentary sequence down to 140 mcd. Calcareous microfossils show evidence of reworking. Siliceous microfossils are relatively abundant, well preserved, and show no evidence of reworking.