Hydrothermal manganese crusts from two sites near the Galapagos spreading axis

Abstract

Manganese oxide crusts similar to those reported from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge rift valley by Scott et al. (1974) were dredged at two sites near the Galapagos spreading axis on ocean floor estimated from magnetic anomalies to be 2.4 and 0.3 m.y. old. Compared to the typical ocean-floor manganese deposits attributed to precipitation from seawater, the 2–6 cm thick manganese crusts reported here exhibit very low Fe/Mn and low 232Th/ 238U ratios, as well as lower transition metal and higher manganese concentrations. The manganese crusts were deposited several orders of magnitude faster than the more common hydrogenous nodules; this fact together with other geochemical characteristics and the geophysical environment suggests the manganese deposits reported here are of hydrothermal origin.