Total organic carbon, amino compounds, and carbohydrates were measured in pore waters and sediments of Pliocene to Pleistocene age from Sites 723 and 724 (ODP Leg 117) to evaluate 1) relationships between organic matter in the sediment and in the pore water, 2) the imprint of lithological variations on the abundance and contribution of organic substances, 3) degradation of amino compounds and carbohydrates with time and/or depth, and 4) the dependence of the ammonia concentration in the pore water on the degradation of amino compounds in the sediment. -from Authors