SRXFA for element compositions of bottom sediments from the Okhotsk Sea

X-ray Fluorescence Analysis with Synchrotron Radiation (SRXFA) was used to study the distribution of minor and trace elements in an 80-kyr-core record from the Okhotsk Sea covering last glacial and Holocene time. Statistical analysis of the collected multi-element data reveals four main particles sources in the sediments. Two sources represent terrigenous input: one predominated in glacial time and the other since the onset of the Holocene warming. The trend of the latter source correlates with the biogenic silica (BiSi) record. These sources were associated with the supply of suspended particles from Amur River during warming and with the continental shelf erosion and ice rafting debris (IRD) in cold times. The third source was controlled by production (Ba, Cs) and ventilation (Mn, U) in the sea, and the fourth one was related to burial of biogenic CaCO3. Concentrations of Y, Zr, K in a layer of volcanic ash (K2∼30 ky) are higher and Rb, Th, Nb, and Ti are lower than in the host sediments. Peaks of Y/Rb and Y/Nb ratios along the core almost always coincide with peaks of volcanic particles in sediments. Thus, Y/Rb and Y/Nb ratios can be used as tracers of regional (Kamchatka-Kuriles) eruptions.