Published data on trace- and dispersed-element distributions, including rare-earth elements (REE), in volcanic rocks of the Mariana island-arc system are very limited (Taylor, 1968) and are virtually unavailable for sediments. Thus determinations of trace-element abundances in the volcanic and sedimentary rocks penetrated by drilling during DSDP Leg 59 is of significant interest.
Rock samples from the sedimentary sequence in the southern part of the Philippine Sea were obtained from six holes at five drill sites (the West Philippine Basin, the Palau-Kyushu Ridge, the Parece Vela Basin, and the West Mariana Ridge). The sequence is represented by vitric tuffs, volcaniclastic breccias, carbonate sediments, and pelagic clays, which vary in age from middle Oligocene to Pleistocene
