XRD diagrams display different minerals including quartz and feldspars. Clay minerals mainly consist of chlorite, illite, smectite, and kaolinite (Fig. F2). Analyses indicate that illite-smectite mixed layers are also present in small amounts. We decided to combine the smectite and illite-smectite mixed-layer content, since in detail, these two minerals vary with the same trends and are sometimes hard to distinguish on the diagrams. Mixed-layer clay minerals slightly enlarge the glycolated peak of smectite at 17 Å. Smectite-illite mixed layers correspond to randomly mixed-layered clays. Combining these two species as "smectite" follows naturally, as some studies have shown a very similar behavior of these phases and smectite is sometimes considered as a special case of illite-smectite mixed layers (see numerous examples, e.g., Chamley, 1989). For the rest of this study, we group these minerals under the generic term of "smectite." Kaolinite and chlorite are the less abundant species, with an average content of 2%-18% and 10%-30%, respectively (Fig. F3; Table T1). In contrast, illite and smectite are more abundant and represent 22%-43% and 30%-55% of the clay fraction, respectively. These sediments are, on average, slightly enriched in smectite compared to equivalent sediments studied from Site 1144 (Fig. F1) (Boulay et al., this volume). Chlorite and illite display similar behavior with in-phase peaks, whereas illite and smectite display antiphase behavior indicative of a change in the clay mineral input. The opposition between smectite and illite + chlorite is especially well expressed below 110 mcd but is also visible in the upper part of this section. The last mineral, kaolinite, does not seem to vary in phase with any of the other minerals and exhibits a relatively stable average abundance of 12%.