Element maps from 5x 10 cm sections generated using the Zeiss Sigma HD Field Emission Gun Analytical SEM at Cardiff University. Maps come from sections within the early Miocene pelagic interval situated directly below the Nicobar Fan succession at IODP Site U1480 in the Eastern Equatorial Indian Ocean (for more information see published report, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2017.07.019). These specific sections were chosen to examine the depositional environments associated with transitions from red clays to white chalk, which demonstrate distinct banding at the micro and macro scale.

This data comprises various transmitted and reflected light microscopy images, scanning electron imagery, chemical mapping (energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy), and crystallographic mapping (electron backscatter diffraction) of basalt samples. Basalt cores were taken from the Reykjanes Ridge in the North Atlantic Ocean, during IODP Expedition 395C at four sites, U1554, U1555, U1562, and U1563.