Iron-rich sediments chemically similar to those forming at present on the crest of the East Pacific Rise have been found just above basement at widely separated drill sites in the eastern equatorial Pacific, including three sites of Leg 16 of the Deep Sea Drilling Project. These sediments were probably formed when the basement was at the crest of this rise and have moved to their present location as a result of sea-floor spreading.

Supplement to: Cronan, David S; van Andel, Tjeerd H; Heath, G Ross; Dinkelman, Menno G; Bennett, Richard H; Bukry, David; Kaneps, Ansis G; Rodolfo, Kelvin S; Yeats, Robert S (1972): Iron-rich basal sediments from the eastern Equatorial Pacific: Leg 16, Deep Sea Drilling Project. Science, 175(4017), 61-63