Previous studies have demonstrated that sediments in the Santa Barbara Basin on the eastern margin of the North Pacific Ocean preserve well the records of short-term climatic events, such as Dansgaard-Oeschger Events and related oceanographic changes (e.g., Behl and Kennett, 1996; Kennett and Ingram, 1995; Thunell and Mortyn, 1995). However, our knowledge is still insufficient to understand oceanographic system and environmental changes in this region and their relation to the global climatic events.
We report the results of total organic carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen studies as well as their carbon isotope composition preserved in California margin sediments (Ocean Drilling Program [ODP] Site 1017) over the last 25 k.y. This study was performed as a part of an organic geochemical study of global climatic changes in the Northern Hemisphere.