Key points
- Researchers on the NOAA Ocean Exploration North Atlantic Stepping Stones expedition found a ferromanganese nodule field in the saddle between two peaks of Gosnold Seamount.
- The find was notable because ferromanganese crusts, rather than nodules, are more common in seamount settings.
- USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center researcher Kira Mizell described the discovery.
- Marine iron and manganese minerals build layers over millions of years and record past climatic and ocean conditions.
USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center researcher Kira Mizell talks about the discovery of a ferromanganese nodule field on a seamount deep in the North Atlantic Ocean.
During a recent dive on the New England Seamount chain off the North Atlantic coast, researchers aboard the NOAA Ocean Exploration Expedition, North Atlantic Stepping Stones, discovered a marine geological feature known as a ferromanganese (Fe-Mn) nodule field in the saddle between two peaks of Gosnold Seamount. These seamount-hosted nodules were an exciting find, since Fe-Mn crusts are more common in seamount settings.
Marine Fe-Mn minerals are unique among marine rocks in that they grow slowly over millions of years, building layers and accumulating metals as they precipitate from seawater and/or sediment pore waters. The study of Fe-Mn deposits can yield clues about past climatic conditions and geologic history, shedding light on how the world’s oceans have changed over time.
