(Table 1, page 641) Hf isotope time series for the uppermost part of a ferromanganese crust from the San Pablo ferro-manganese pavement

The Hf isotope composition of seawater does not match that expected from dissolution of bulk continental crust. This mismatch is generally considered to be due to retention of unradiogenic Hf in resistant zircons during incomplete weathering of continental crust. During periods of intense glacial weathering, zircons should break down more efficiently, resulting in the release of highly unradiogenic Hf to the oceans. We test this hypothesis by comparing Nd and Hf isotope time series obtained from NW Atlantic ferromanganese crusts. Both isotope systems show a decrease associated with the onset of northern hemisphere glaciation. The observed changes display distinct trajectories in epsilon Nd- epsilon Hf space, which differ from previously reported arrays of bulk terrestrial material and seawater. Such patterns are consistent with the release of highly unradiogenic Hf from very old zircons, facilitated by enhanced mechanical weathering.

(Table 1, page 41), Chemical and radiocativity analysis of manganese crusts from the Lika river, Vermland, Sweden and ferromanganese ore from lake Tisjoen, Dalecarlia, Sweden

The trace element content of different bog ores has been measured and it appeared that most of these elements are enriched in the manganiferous bog ores as compared with the ferriferous ones. The manganiferous bog ores have also proved to have a higher radioactivity than the ferriferous ones.

Geochemistry on manganese nodules from the central Pacific

During Cruise VA 04/2 of the R. V. Valdivia in 1972, numerous samples were collected of manganese nodules, sodiments, and the pore water of the Sediments in the area betwoen 6° N and 11° N and between 149° W and 154° W in the Central Pacific. This paper reports on the geochemical study of 70 manganese nodules from 12 stations (box-core and dredge samples). The nodules Irom a single Station vary considerably in diemical composition. These variations are of the same magnitude as the variations in nodule composition over the entire survey area. The ratios of manganese to nickel, copper, and zinc show good positive correlation as do the ratios of iron to lead and, to a lesser extent, of iron to cobalt. No correlation was found between the environment of the manganese nodules and their metal content. Three internal zones, the outer. intermediate, and core zones, of some nodules were studied in detail. Trends of differences of Chemical composition from surface to core were found for numerous elements and elemental ratios.

Description of manganese deposits collected by R/V Nothwind during the 1963 expedition in the Laptev sea

The 400-km-wide, low gradient Laptev Sea continental shelf consists of flat terrace-like features at regular depth intervals from 10 to 40 m below present sea level. The five large submarine valleys traversing the shelf do not continuously grade seaward, but contain elongated, closed basins. These terraces and closed basins plus deltaic sediments associated with the submarine valleys quite possibly mark sea level Stillstands, and enable reconstruction of the paleogeography of the Laptev Sea shore line at five periods during post-Wisconsin (Holocene) time. Radiocarbon dates on the silty-clay to clayey-silt sediments from cores of the northeastern Laptev Sea indicate average sedimentation intensity of 2 to 15 mg/cm2/yr. The presence of manganese nodules and crusts in surface samples from less than 55 m depths and a general decrease in total foraminiferal abundances with depth in the cores suggest that the present deposition rate is less than when sea level was lower. The main components of the shelf deposits are near- shore sediments which were spread over the shelf as Holocene sea level fluctuated and marine currents distributed modern fine sediment. Rare silty-sand layers and the coarser nuclei of the manganese crusts and nodules indicate ice rafting. However, this mechanism is probably only locally important as a significant transporting agent.

Analysis of manganese deposits from the Pacific Ocean

Sea floor dredging by the H.M.S. Challenger, the U.S.S. Albatross, the U.S.S. EPC(R) 857, and vessels of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography shows that extensive deposits of manganese nodules are on the deep sea floor and that crusts of manganese dioxide cover many seamounts. Sea floor photography reveals that in some places these crusts are quite continuous and the nodules are closely packed. These crusts and nodules are fully oxidized and hydrated mixtures of man¬ganese and iron plus earthy impurities. Also, relatively high concen¬trations of the trace elements nickel, copper, and cobalt are present.

Observations and rare earth element composition of manganese nodules during Atlantis cruise AT266, Blake Plateau

An area of about 22,000 km² on the northern Blake Plateau, off the coast of South Carolina, contains an estimated 2 billion metric tons of phosphorite concretions, and about 1.2 billion metric tons of mixed ferromanganese-phosphorite pavement. Other offshore phosphorites occur between the Blake Plateau and known continental deposits, buried under variable thicknesses of sediments. The phosphorite resembles other marine phosphorites in composition, consisting primarily of carbonate-fluorapatite, some calcite, minor quartz and other minerals. The apatite is optically pseudo-isotropic and contains about 6% [CO3]**2- replacing [PO4]**3- in its structure. JOIDES drillings and other evidence show that the phosphorite is a lag deposit derived from Miocene strata correlatable with phosphatic Middle Tertiary sediments on the continent. It has undergone variable cycles of erosion, reworking, partial dissolution and reprecipitation. Its present form varies from phosphatized carbonate debris, loose pellets, and pebbles, to continuous pavements, plates, and conglomeratic boulders weighing hundreds of kilograms. No primary phosphatization is currently taking place on the Blake Plateau. The primary phosphate-depositing environment involved reducing conditions and required at least temporary absence of the powerful Gulf Stream current that now sweeps the bottom of the Blake Plateau and has eroded away the bulk of the Hawthorne-equivalent sediments with which the phosphorites were once associated.