Annotated record of the detailed examination of Mn deposits from the CLIMAX II (SCAN) Expedition stations aboard R/V Argo in the central North Pacific

A 0.25 m US Naval Electronics Lab box corer was used to take replicate samples from an oligotrophic bottom under the North Pacific Central Water Mass (approx. 28 degrees N, 155 degrees W). The bottom is a red clay with manganese nodules at a depth of 5500-5800 m. Macrofaunal density ranges from 84 to 160 individuals per m super(2) and is therefore much the same as in Northwest Atlantic Gyre waters. Of the macrofaunal taxa, polychaetes dominate (55 per cent), followed by tanaids (18 per cent), bivalves (7 per cent), and isopods (6 per cent). Meiofaunal taxa were only partially retained by the 297 micrometer screen used in washing. Even then, they are 1.5-3.9 times as abundant as the microfaunal taxa, with nematodes being numerically dominant by far. Foraminifera seem to comprise an important portion of the community, but could not be assessed accurately because of the inability to discriminate living and dead tests. Remains of what are probably xenophyophoridans are also very important, but offer the same problem. Faunal diversity is extremely high, with deposit feeders comprising the overwhelming majority. Most spp are rare, being encountered only once. The distributions of only 3 spp show any significant deviation from randomness. The polychaete fauna from box cores collected from 90 m to the north was not significantly different from that of the principal study locality. Concordance appeared at several taxonomic levels, from spp through microfaunal/ meiofaunal relationships. As a result, the variation in total animal abundance shows aggregation among cores. The authors discuss Sokolova's concept of a deep-sea oligotrophic zone dominated by suspension feeders, and reconcile it with our present findings. The high diversity of the fauna combined with the low food level contradict theories that relate diversity directly with productivity.

Annotated record of the detailed examination of Mn deposits from JAPANYON Expedition stations

The cores described in this report were taken on JAPANYON Expedition in June-September 1961 by Scripps Institution of Oceanography from, the R/V Spencer F. Baird. A total of 85 cores and dredges were recovered and are available at Scripps for sampling and study. The coring sites are all in the eastern tropical central Pacific.

Annotated record of the detailed examination of Mn deposits from the HILO Expedition stations

The cores and dredges described in this report were taken on the HILO Expedition in March-April 1962 by Scripps Institution of Oceanography from, the R/V Stranger. A total of 21 cores and dredges were recovered and are available at Scripps for sampling and study.

Annotated record of the detailed examination of Mn deposits from the Swedish Deep Sea Expedition

The cores and dredges described in this report were taken during the Swedish Deep Sea Expedition from July 1947 until October 1948 aboard the S/S Albatross (Boström). A total of 370 cores and trawls during this World circumnavigation.

Annotated record of the detailed examination of Mn deposits from the MUKLUK expedition in the North-East Pacific Ocean

The cores and dredges described are taken during the MUKLUK expedition of the R/V Spencer Baird in July-August 1957 by the Scripps Institute of Oceanography. A total of 31 cores and dredges were recovered and are available at Scripps Institute of Oceanography for sampling and study.

Annotated record of the detailed examination of Mn deposits from R/V Eltanin Cruise 5 stations

Cores, submarine photography and dredges described in this report were taken during the R/V Eltanin Cruise 5 in 1962 by the Department of Geology, Florida State University. Cores and dredges were recovered for 31 stations and are available at the Antarctic Research Facility, Florida State University for sampling and study.

Annotated record of the detailed examination of Mn deposits from ARA Islas Orcadas Cruise 12 core stations

The purpose of this volume, the ninth in a series of similar publications (Goodell, 1964, 1965, 1968; Frakes 1971, 1973 ; Cassidy et al., 1977), is to continue a presentation to the research community of sediment core descriptions and attendant data of cored and otherwise obtained sediments retrieved in waters of the Southern Ocean aboard the research vessel, ARA Islas Orcadas (formerly, USNS Eltanin), as a part of the circumpolar survey begun by Eltanin in 1962 (see issue of Antarctic Journal of the United States, Vol. 8, No. 3, 1973). The data presented herein are concerned with the results of coring activities aboard cruise 1277 of Islas Orcadas, the third marine geology coring cruise of this vessel under the terms of the present United States-Argentine agreement. The core descriptions are organised as follows: 1) a brief summary of the coring objectives of the cruise, together with a discussion of core recovery; 2) a table and map of station location data for materials retrieved; 3) a table of tentative age-dates for each piston core; 4) an explanation of the laboratory procedures and descriptive criteria used in the description of the sediments, and 5) lithologic descriptions of the piston and trigger cores, and the piston and trigger core bag samples.

Annotated record of the detailed examination of Mn deposits in the Atlantic Ocean from cruises from R/V Atlantis II, R/V Knorr, R/V Melvin and R/V James M. Gilliss in 1980-1981

This report is Volume 3 of Descriptions of WHOI rock dredge samples. This series represents a major effort to catalog the rock dredge samples in the WHOI Sea Floor samples collection, and to disseminate this information throughout the scientific community. Volume 3 contains sample descriptions and station data for the dredge stations from five cruises during the period September 1978 through December 1980. The material in this and subsequent volumes of rock descriptions was largely prepared onboard ship by the participating scientists. Volume 3 was printed prior to volumes 1 and 2 because of the excellent documentation of the samples represented in this volume.

Annotated record of the detailed examination of Mn deposits from RISEPAC Expedition stations

The cores and dredges described in this report were taken on the RISEPAC Expedition from October 1961 until February 1962 by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography from the R/V Spencer F. Baird. A total of 164 cores and dredges were recovered and are available at Scripps for sampling and study.

Annotated record of the detailed examination of Mn deposits from BENTHIFACE Expedition stations

The cores described in this report were taken on the BENTHIFACE Expedition in June 1973 to July 1973 by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography from the R/V Melville. A total of 128 cores and dredges were recovered and are available at Scripps for sampling and study.

Observation of manganese nodules and crusts recovered during the CHAIN 115 cruise from Nov 1973 until June 1974 in the Atlantic Ocean

Investigations of piston cores from the Vema Channel and lower flanks of the Rio Grande Rise suggest the presence of episodic flow of deep and bottom water during the Late Pleistocene. Cores from below the present-day foraminiferal lysocline (at ~4000 m) contain an incomplete depositional record consisting of Mn nodules and encrustations, hemipelagic clay, displaced high-latitude diatoms, and poorly preserved heterogeneous microfossil assemblages. Cores from the depth range between 2900 m and 4000 m contain an essentially complete Late Pleistocene record, and consist of well-defined carbonate dissolution cycles with periodicities of ~100,000 years. Low carbonate content and increased dissolution correspond to glacial episodes, as interpreted by oxygen isotopic analysis of bulk foraminiferal assemblages. The absence of diagnostic high-latitude indicators (Antarctic diatoms) within the dissolution cyclss, however, suggests that AABW may not have extended to significantly shallower elevations on the lower flanks of the Rio Grande Rise during the Late Pleistocene. Therefore episodic AABW flow may not necessarily be the mechanism responsible for producing these cyclic events. This interpretation is also supported by the presence of an apparently complete Brunhes depositional record in the same cores, suggesting current velocities insufficient for significant erosion. Fluctuations in the properties and flow characteristics of another water mass, such as NADW, may be involved. The geologic evidence in core-top samples near the present-day AABW/NADW transition zone is consistent with either of two possible interpretations of the upper limit of AABW on the east flank of the channel. The foraminiferal lysocline, at ~4000 m, is near the top of the benthic thermocline and nepheloid layer, and may therefore correspond to the upper limit of relatively corrosive AABW. On the other hand, the carbonate compensation depth (CDD) at ~4250 m, which corresponds to the maximum gradient in the benthic thermocline, is characterized by rapid deposition of relatively fine-grained sediment. Such a zone of convergence and preferential sediment accumulation would be expected near the level of no motion in the AABW/NADW transition zone as a consequence of Ekman-layer veering of the mean velocity vector in the bottom boundary layer. It is possible that both of these interpretations are in part correct. The "level of no motion'' may in fact correspond to the CCD, while at the same time relatively corrosive water of Antarctic origin may mix with overlying NADW and therefore elevate the foraminifera] lysocline to depths above the level of no motion. Closely spaced observations of the hydrography and flow characteristics within the benthic thermocline will be required in order to use sediment parameters as more precise indicators of paleo-circulation.

Annotated record of the detailed examination of Mn deposits from R/V Atlantis Cruise 172 stations

The cores described were taken by the personnel of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO) operating as guests scientists during the R/V Atlantis Cruise 172 undertaken by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution from April until June 1951. A total of 35 cores were recovered and are available at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory for sampling and study.

Annotated record of the detailed examination of Mn deposits from R/V Atlantis Cruise 167 stations

The cores described were taken by the personnel of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO) operating as guests scientists during the R/V Atlantis Cruise 167 undertaken by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in January 1951. A total of 55 cores were recovered and are available at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory for sampling and study.

Annotated record of the detailed examination of Mn deposits from R/V Atlantis Cruise 160 stations

The cores described were taken by the personnel of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO) operating as guests scientists during the R/V Atlantis Cruise 160 undertaken by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution from Januray until April 1950. A total of 23 cores were recovered and are available at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory for sampling and study.