[M-ZZ41] Marine manganese deposits: from basic to applied sciences

[MZZ41-P03] Internal structures in the initial stage of formation of small manganese nodules, in the northeastern Pacific

*Masafumi MURAYAMA¹, Shinsuke Yagyu², Kosei Kawata³, Keiji Horikawa⁴ (1.Faculty of Agriculture and Marine Science, Kochi University, 2.Center for Advanced Marine Core Research, Kochi University, 3.Faculty of Science, Kochi University, 4.Graduate School of Science and Engineering for Research, University of Toyama)

Keywords:manganese nodule, initial stage of formation, internal structure, micro focus X-ray CT, northeastern Pacific

Small manganese nodules were found at the surface sediment of seamount in the northeastern Pacific during the R/V Hakuho-maru, KH-17-3 cruise. Nondestructive technique of micro focus X-ray computed tomography (μ-CT) allows visualization of the internal structure of these nodules. The thickness of covering Fe-Mn oxide layers in the nodules were a few millimeters which might be in the initial stage of formation of manganese nodule. Here we report the results of internal structures of these manganese nodules.