SEM Study of Marine Ferromanganese Micronodules from the Atlantic Ocean

• Published in: Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America
• Main Author: McKee, Thomas R.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1975
• Subjects: General Medicine; Northwest Atlantic
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0424820100113974; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0424820100113974

Recently there has been increased research on deep ocean ferromanganese n odule deposits due to interest in mining them for their Ni, Co and Cu content (up to 1%). In addition to the scattered surficial deposits of nodules (dia > 10 mm) there are also micronodules (dia < 1 mm) which are much more widespread and seldom studied. Several cores sampled for the present study were taken in the abyssal plain and hills region (depth > 5000 m) of the Northwest Atlantic Ocean (obtained 1973 by S.K.A. aboard R/V Conrad cruise R-16). The micronodules were separated by sieving the coarse fraction > 62 μm), which composed up to 10% by dry weight of the surface sediment, decreasing to 1% at depth (9m) and consisting mainly of ferromanganese micronodules with small amounts of quartz and biogenic material. An initial survey has been completed utilizing reflected light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (JEOL JSM-U3 equipped with an EDAX energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer) in preparation for a more extensive study of the microstructure, mineralogy and chemistry of the micronodules and sediment.