A detailed study of a nodule from the Somali Basin datEd. by sup(230)Th sub(excess) was correlated with the paleoceanographic events recorded in Site 236 (Leg 24) Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) cores. Tentative indications are that the phase of nodule accretion starting with the development of pillar structure at a depth of 20 mm in the nodule around 13 Ma coincides with increased Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) flow and an elevated calciumcarbonate compensation depth (CCD). The Late Miocene lowering of the CCD is representEd. by the mottled zones between 8 and 18 mm in the nodule is characterisEd. by an abundant silicate component (> 20%) of aeolian origin. The Miocene/Pliocene boundary (5 Ma) occurs at a depth of about 8 mm and is representEd. by the development of pillar structure and minimum of aeolian dust (10.3%). The increased biological productivity of the Somali surface water since the Middle Miocene is demonstratEd. by the increasing C sub(org) content of the nodule (from 0.11 to 0.19%) towards its surface