The reconstruction of environmental parameters using well-developed paleoceanographic proxies on calcareous tests and skeletons of benthic organisms is the major aim of the proposed investigation. In particular, the variability and dynamic of the intermediate water masses is still little investigated in terms of high-resolution reconstructions. Therefore, we aim to investigate on Challenger Mound sediment cores recovered during IODP Expedition 307 stable isotopes (?13C, ?18O, ?88Sr) on cold-water corals and benthic foraminifers to reconstruct the variability of intermediate water temperatures on glacial-interglacial (forams) and seasonal (corals) timescales. The proposed study focuses on an extended high-resolution record of the Late Pleistocene (top 20 m) and the section of mound initiation and start-up phase of coral growth (144.5–149.5 m) of core 1317C. Age determinations and stable isotope studies on benthic foraminifera will be used to identify intervals of paleoceanographic relevance (glacial vs. interglacial, terminations, before and after hiatuses, etc.) in both sections of interest. At these intervals, high- resolution stable isotope analyses on well-preserved coral fragments will give evidence of intermediate water temperature variability on a seasonal scale. Additionally, these investigations will help to understand the role of intermediate water masses of southern origin (Mediterranean, Bay of Biscay) with their pole-ward transport and the colonization of cold-water corals during their first introduction to the Porcupine Seabight (mound base), and during the past glacial-interglacial cycles.