Paleoceanographic implications and cyclostratigraphy of variations in well-log data from the western slope of the Ulleung Basin, East Sea.

Cyclic variations of density and gamma-ray logs achieved from the two drill sites of UBGH2-1_1 and UBGH2-1_2 in the western slope of the Ulleung Basin were investigated to reveal their paleoceanographic implications and establish cyclostratigraphy of the well logs. Integration of the core, log, and seismic data from the two sites indicates that the sediments of the drilled intervals mostly consist of hemipelagic muds, with a few sporadic mass transport deposits intercalated only in the downslope site of UBGH2-1_1. Comparison with variations in sediment composition suggests that ratios of terrigeneous to biogenic materials which were modulated by orbital-scale climate changes should be responsible to the well-log variations. The established cyclostratigraphy of the well logs based on correlation with marine oxygen isotope records indicates such climatic modulation of the sedimentation in the western slope of the Ulleung Basin has persisted at least since 2.6 Ma, consistent with the variation reported from the Oki Ridge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]