Occurrence of ferromanganese crusts at the margin of the summit of a guyot: results from geophysical and geological observation

Abstract

Co-rich ferromanganese crusts (Fe-Mn crusts) distributed on seamounts in the westernPacific are potential economic resources for cobalt, nickel, platinum, and other rare metalsin the future. Evaluation and selection of a mining site can be established based onabundance and grade of Fe-Mn crusts in the site as well as topography that should besmooth enough for mining operations. Therefore, acquisition of shipboard echo-soundingand acoustic backscatter data are prerequisite to the selection of potential mine sites inaddition to visual and sampling operations. Acoustic backscatter data can be used to locatecrust-covered areas on a regional scale with the understanding of acoustic properties ofcrust through its correlation with visual and sampling data. be established based onabundance and grade of Fe-Mn crusts in the site as well as topography that should besmooth enough for mining operations. Therefore, acquisition of shipboard echo-soundingand acoustic backscatter data are prerequisite to the selection of potential mine sites inaddition to visual and sampling operations. Acoustic backscatter data can be used to locatecrust-covered areas on a regional scale with the understanding of acoustic properties ofcrust through its correlation with visual and sampling data.