Japan Geoscience Union Meeting 2016

Presentation information

Oral

Symbol B (Biogeosciences) » B-PT Paleontology

[B-PT05] Decoding the history of Earth: From Hadean to Modern

Wed. May 25, 2016 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM 105 (1F)

Convener:*Tsuyoshi Komiya(Department of Earth Science & Astronomy Graduate School of Arts and Sciences The University of Tokyo), Yasuhiro Kato(Department of Systems Innovation, Graduate School of Engineering, University of Tokyo), Katsuhiko Suzuki(Research and Development Center for Submarine Resources, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology), Chair:Tsuyoshi Komiya(Department of Earth Science & Astronomy Graduate School of Arts and Sciences The University of Tokyo)

9:00 AM - 9:15 AM

[BPT05-01] The progress of research on REY-rich mud within the Minamitorishima EEZ

*Yasuhiro Kato1,2,3, Koichiro Fujinaga3,1, Kentaro Nakamura1,2, Kazutaka Yasukawa1,3, Junichiro Ohta1, Yutaro Takaya4,1, Koichi Iijima2, Shiki Machida2,1, Tatsuo Nozaki2,1, Jun-Ichi Kimura2, Katsuhiko Suzuki2, Hikaru Iwamori2,5 (1.Department of Systems Innovation, Graduate School of Engineering, University of Tokyo, 2.Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, 3.Chiba Institute of Technology, 4.Department of Resources and Environmental Engineering School of Creative Science and Enginerring, Waseda University, 5.Tokyo Institute of Technology)

Keywords:deep-sea mineral resource, REY-rich mud, Minamitorishima Island

Three years have passed since the amazingly fruitful research cruise KR13-02 resulted in a discovery of deep-sea mud extremely enriched in rare-earth elements and yttrium (REY) within the Japanese exclusive economic zone (EEZ) surrounding Minaimitorishima Island. The mud with maximum total REY content of ~8,000 ppm strongly attracts our attention as an unconventional and highly promising deep-sea mineral resource. Subsequent six cruises, i.e., MR13-E02, KR14-02, MR14-E02, MR15-E01 Leg 2 and Leg 3, and MR15-02, have highlighted that the southern part of the Minamitorishima EEZ appears to be the unique area where the “extremely REY-rich mud” lies at very shallow depth (2 to 4 m) below the seafloor. In the presentation, we report a general overview of our latest findings from various approaches to REY-rich mud in the Minamitorishima EEZ including chemical, physical, statistical and engineering techniques.