Neutron activation analysis of deep sea sediments from the regions near Japan

Eighteen trace elements, including seven rare earth elements (REEs), and major and minor elements in the sediment samples from the Japan Sea and the northwestern Pacific near Japan were determined with instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). Most REE patterns (chondrite-nomalized) of the sediments were nearly identical to the patterns of terrigenous materials without cerium anomaly whereas the La/Yb ratio varied with the site locations. The variation of the La/Yb ratio of the sediments may indicate the regional variation of the mixing proportion of the terrigenous materials from the continent to the materials from the volcanic island arcs including the Japanese islands. The Th/Sc ratio of the sediments tended to increase with distance from the island-arc volcanism. Regional variation of the Th/Sc ratio may indicate variation of amount of the continental terrigenous materials supplied to the sediments.