Ferromanganese crusts (hereinafter crusts) form in aerobic environment and the environmental oxida-tion degree is recorded by the redox sensitive element Co in the crusts. The ages of the layers from the surface to bottom of the crusts are determined, and main element contents at high resolution along the depth sections of three crusts from the Pacific Ocean are analyzed by an electron microprobe. Thus the variations of Co/(Fe+Mn) and Co/(Ni+Cu) with age/depth of the crust layers are obtained. By comparing the ratios of Co/(Fe+Mn) and Co/(Ni+Cu) with the δ 18O curves of the Pacific benthic foraminifera, we find that these two ratios can reflect the variation of the environmental oxidation state under which the crust layers deposit. The evolution of the oxidation degree reflected by the two indexes resembles the evo-lution of temperature since the Oligocene reflected by the δ 18O curves of the Pacific benthic foraminif-era. This suggests that the crust-forming environment after the Oligocene is controlled mainly by the oxygen-rich bottom water originated from the Antarctic bottom water (AABW). However it is not the case prior to the Oligocene. Furthermore it suggests that the environmental oxidation degree controls the formation of the crusts and the Co contents in the crusts. This explains why the Co contents in the crusts increase with time up to now.
