X-ray fluorescence (XRF) core scanning provides rapid high-resolution (down to 1 mm) records of chemical composition on split sediment cores. The measurements are non-destructive and require very limited sample preparation. The new Avaatech XRF Core Scanner, operational since 2002, covers the atomic mass range from Al to U. Instrument parameters, especially tube voltage, can be adjusted to provide optimum settings for selected elements or sets thereof. Owing to the nature of the surface of split sediment cores, particularly effects resulting from sample inhomogeneity and surface roughness, results are semiquantitative, yet provide reliable records of the relative variability in elemental composition downcore. Selected case studies from diverse sedimentary settings in the NE Atlantic Ocean illustrate a range of applications of XRF logging data. These include preliminary stratigraphic interpretations (glacial-interglacial cycles), provenance studies of the terrigenous sediment fraction, lithological characterization, early diagenetic processes and distinction between carbonate phases (aragonite v. calcite).

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Cold-water coral carbonate mounds, owing their presence mainly to the framework building coral Lophelia pertusa and the activity of associated organisms, are common along the European margin with their spatial distribution allowing them to be divided into a number of mound provinces. Variation in mound attributes are explored via a series of case studies on mound provinces that have been the most intensely investigated: Belgica, Hovland, Pelagia, Logachev and Norwegian Mounds. Morphological variation between mound provinces is discussed under the premise that mound morphology is an expression of the environmental conditions under which mounds are initiated and grow. Cold-water coral carbonate mounds can be divided into those exhibiting ''inherited'' morphologies (where mound morphology reflects the morphology of the colonised features) and ''developed'' morphology (where the mounds assume their own gross morphology mainly reflecting dominant hydrodynamic controls). Finer-scale, surface morphological features mainly reflecting biological growth forms are also discussed.

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