Japan Geoscience Union Meeting 2025

Presentation information

[J] Oral

M (Multidisciplinary and Interdisciplinary) » M-ZZ Others

[M-ZZ44] Marine Manganese Minerals: Depositional environments, exploration, and development

Thu. May 29, 2025 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM 201B (International Conference Hall, Makuhari Messe)

convener:Akira Usui(Marine Core Research Institute, Kochi University), Yoshio Takahashi(Department of Earth and Planetary Science, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo), Katsuhiko Suzuki(Submarine Resources Research Center, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology), Takashi Ito(Faculty of Education, Ibaraki University), Chairperson:Takashi Ito(Faculty of Education, Ibaraki University), Akira Usui(Marine Core Research Institute, Kochi University), Katsuhiko Suzuki(Submarine Resources Research Center, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology), Yoshio Takahashi(Department of Earth and Planetary Science, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo)

9:00 AM - 9:15 AM

[MZZ44-01] Submicron-scale petrography of hydrogenetic ferromanganese crusts for growth processes and environments

*Akira Usui1, Hiroshi Kawabata2, Teruhiko Kashiwabara3, Tomoyo Okumura1, Makoto Miyajima4 (1.Marine Core Research Institute, Kochi University, 2.Fac. Science and Engineering, Kochi Univ., 3.Japan Marine and Earth Science and Technology Center, 4.Fac. Agriculture & Marine Sciences)

Keywords:ferromanganese crust, petrography, SEM, growth environment, microstructure

Hydrogenetic ferromanganese oxide precipitates are long-range sediment archives and future mineral deposits. Our recent studies include the discovery of modern precipitation of Fe and Mn oxide particles (Usui et al., 2021, Scientific Reports), and the well-correlated microstratigraphy within the world ocean scales (Hino & Usui, 2023), the molecular-level metal adsorption properties (Kishiwabara et al., 2000), and water-depth depency of crust composition to the water structure (Usui et al., 2017), etc., although the results suggested some unresolved problems.
Their the physical, chemical, and biological factors are not well understood due to their low-crystalline, metastable, and multi-origin nature of ferromanganese deposits. Here, we aimed to characterize the compositional and mineralogical properties of each submicron-sized constituent. On the other hand, in-situ adsorption experiments have confirmed that coccoid-shape vernadite precipitates (aggregates) of 1 to 2 μm in diameter are the major form in marine waters, and that the precipitate is in fact a common constituent of hydrogenetic ferromanganese crusts. Specifically, 1) the coccoidal masses of ferromanganese oxide is the main constituent of hydrogenetic crusts, 2) the crusts contain a large amount of silicate particles of multiple origins, 3) they are likely to be formed during the initial fixation process of sedimentation, and 3) the structure suggest, re-precipitation or diagenetic alteration.