Inclination shallowing in deep sea sediments from the North Atlantic

Paleomagnetic data from Miocene to Recent deep sea sediments recovered during Leg 94 of the Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) in the North Atlantic exhibit a systematic shallowing of inclinations with depth at some sites. This shallowing is coincident with a downhole decrease in water content, and is observed only in sediments with a carbonate content consistently greater than 80%. Compaction due to overburden pressure is believed to be responsible for the shallow inclinations observed in these unconsolidated sediments. At sites where the carbonate content of the sediments is consistently below about 80% no significant downcore decreasing trends in the water content or inclination record are observed.