Sedimentary characteristics and the implications of cobalt-rich crusts resources at Caiwei Guyot in the Western Pacific Ocean

Abstract

Cobalt-rich crust has attracted increased attention due to their economic value. Studies have indicated that seamounts in the Western Pacific Ocean are rich in cobalt-rich crust resources. The Caiwei Guyot in Western Pacific Ocean is one of the cobalt-rich crust exploration areas contracted between China and the International Seabed Authority. A large volume of research has been conducted to elucidate the tectonic evolution, basement type, sediment type, gravity and magnetic anomaly characteristics, and geochemical characteristics of shallow surface sediments at Caiwei Guyot. However, a research gap exists on the sedimentary strata below the pelagic deposits and above the volcanic basement of the Caiwei Guyot. This paper summarizes that two main types of sediments existing on the top of Caiwei Guyot. The deposition thickness on the top of Caiwei Guyot is characterized by three sedimentary centers and exposed periphery. Pelagic sediments are difficult to form at the northeastern portion and edge area of Caiwei Guyot due to the strong bottom current environment, which makes these areas suitable for crust growth. This paper delineated three cobalt-rich crust prospective areas at the Caiwei Guyot with of significant implications for exploration and mining-lease-block selections at Caiwei Guyot.     

西北太平洋采薇海山富钴结壳矿物学和地球化学特征

富钴结壳是一种富含Mn、Co、Ni和稀土元素（镧系元素加钇,简称REY）等元素的海底矿产资源。本文研究的富钴结壳样品是“科学”号在2018年HOBAB5航次于西北太平洋采薇海山的山顶边缘上通过电视抓斗获得的。利用扫描电镜、X射线衍射仪（XRD）、电感耦合等离子体发射光谱仪（ICP-OES）和电感耦合等离子体质谱仪（ICP-MS）分析了富钴结壳的显微构造、矿物学特征和地球化学特征,并探讨了其成因类型和形成机制。富钴结壳的结构从内到外可分为土黄色的疏松层（C8-5）、黑色铁锰致密层（C8-2、C8-3和C8-4）和发育葡萄状球体的粗糙表面（C8-1）。土黄色疏松层孔隙度较高,主要组成矿物为水羟锰矿、石英、钙长石、钠长石、钙十字沸石和钡镁锰矿,Mn的含量较低,Al的含量较高。黑色的铁锰致密层孔隙度较低,呈柱状构造,主要组成矿物为水羟锰矿、石英、钙长石和钠长石,Al含量有所下降,Mn含量升高, 说明陆源物质的供应逐渐变少。在富钴结壳的生长后期,其主要显微构造由柱状构造向斑杂构造转变,二者的过渡区域为铁锰氧化物与富Si碎屑物质组成的层状构造。富钴结壳各层位的Mn/Fe比值为1.16～1.85,且各层位Ce呈正异常,Y呈负异常,以上特征表明富钴结壳为水成成因型,其金属元素来源于氧化性海水,未受到热液活动的影响。依据富钴结壳的年代学数据,可知从渐新世末期到上新世中期,富钴结壳的生长过程一直受控于太平洋深层水。Co/(Fe+Mn)和Co/(Ni+Cu)的不断升高表明富钴结壳一直在氧化性较高的海水环境中生长。相较于其他大洋和海区,采薇海山富钴结壳具有高含量的Co、Ni和REY,具有极高的经济价值和开采价值。     

Magnetic minerals in Mid-Pleistocene sediments on the Caiwei Guyot,Northwest Pacific and their response to the Mid-Brunhes climate event

Seamounts are ubiquitous topographic units in global oceans, and their influences on local oceanic circulation have attracted great attention in physical oceanography; however, previous efforts were less made in paleoclimatology and paleoceanography. The Caiwei Guyot in the Magellan Seamounts of the western Pacific is a typical seamount, and in this study, we investigate a well-dated sediment core by magnetic properties to reveal the relationship between deep-sea sedimentary processes and global climate changes. The principal results are as follows: (1) the dominant magnetic minerals in the sediments are low-coercivity magnetite in pseudo-single domain range, probably including a biogenic contribution; (2) the variabilities of magnetic parameters can be clustered into two sections at ～500 ka, and the differences between the two units are evident in amplitudes and means; (3) changes in the grainsize-dependent magnetic parameters can be well correlated to records of global ice volume and atmospheric CO2 in the middle Pleistocene. Based on these results, a close linkage was proposed between deep-sea sedimentary processes in the Caiwei Guyot and global climate changes. This linkage likely involves different roles of biogenic magnetite in the sediments between interglacial and glacial intervals, responding to changes in marine productivity and deep-sea circulation and displaying a major change in the Mid-Brunhes climate event. Therefore, we proposed that the sedimentary archives at the bottom of the Caiwei Guyot record some key signals of global climate changes, providing a unique window to observe interactions between various environmental systems on glacial-interglacial timescales.     

维嘉海山沉积过程及其对西太平洋海山演化的意义

海山沉积过程与全球气候变化和古海洋演化有着紧密联系,维嘉海山保留了西太平洋晚中生代以来的完整沉积记录,是探索西太平洋海山构造演化的理想场所.基于浅地层剖面、大洋钻探和最新相关研究成果,通过研究海山的沉积特征、火山活动和沉降速率等,探索西太平洋维嘉海山晚中生代以来的沉积过程.结果显示维嘉海山顶部发育3个沉积单元,并发现了...     

麦哲伦海山区采薇海山富钴结壳伴生有用元素含量变化及空间分布特征

对采薇海山富钴结壳样品中的伴生有用元素(REE、PGE、W、Mo、Au、Te)的含量变化特征和空间分布特征进行了研究。结果表明:随着水深增加,伴生有用元素REE含量有升高的趋势,Te含量则呈现逐渐降低趋势,PGE、W、Mo和Au与水深、地形之间未能发现明显的相关性;采薇海山伴生有用元素在平面上的分布极不均匀,但多以条带状平行水深等深线分布,也有少数区域表现为斑块状分布,且不同的伴生有用元素的富集区域有所差别。     

Fine-scale compositional variations in a Co-rich Mn crust from the Marcus-Wake Seamount cluster in the western Pacific based on electron microprobe analysis (EMPA)

The internal structure and composition of a 37-mm-thick Co-rich Mn crust from the Lamont Guyot in the Marcus-Wake Seamount cluster have been studied in detail by means of electron-probe microanalysis (EPMA). 184 point analyses for 16 elements were carried out at an average spacing of 0.20 mm and each point was dated using the Co-geochronometer method. Two types of variation in composition were observed in the crust: long-term trends and short-term erratic variations. The long-term trends were identified using the fifth order polynomial. Mn and Ni were shown to increase in concentration from 23.3 Ma to a maximum at about 20 Ma and then decline steadily to the Present, whereas Fe, P and Si showed the opposite trend. By contrast, Co displayed a double humped pattern with maxima at about 19 Ma and 3.5 Ma and minima at 23.3 Ma, about 11 Ma and at Present. The long-term trends in element concentrations in the crust lead us to suggest that much of the Fe in western Pacific Ocean ferromanganese crusts is aeolian in origin and derived from the deserts of central Asia. Cooling of the Asian mainland at about 20 Ma led to an increase in the flux of Fe to the oceans. This was supplemented by an additional input of Fe into the crusts as a consequence of the dissolution of biogenic CaCO₃ tests at 4.5−10.5 Ma. For the short-term erratic variations, three periods of 0.61, 0.96 and 1.65 m.y. were identified by spectral analysis. The second harmonics of these periods are 1.22, 1.92 and 3.30 m.y., which may correspond to the highest-order periods for eccentricity of 1.31, 2.04 and 3.47 m.y. This suggests the possibility that the high-frequency oscillations of the time series data are linked to climatic changes controlled by the highest-order periods of the Milankovitch cycles.     

西太平洋采薇海山群基岩特征

对西太平洋采薇海山群基岩的类型、分布及岩石学特征进行了研究,同时对该海山群玄武岩主量元素和微量元素地球化学特征进行了初步分析。研究结果表明,采薇海山群的基岩类型主要为火山碎屑岩、灰岩、玄武岩和磷块岩;海山群的基岩以火山碎屑岩为主,其次为灰岩和玄武岩,磷块岩相对不发育。镜下鉴定结果显示,火山碎屑岩以玄武质火山角砾岩为主,灰岩主要为泥晶生屑灰岩或亮晶生屑灰岩,磷块岩多由生物碎屑灰岩或火山碎屑岩发生磷酸盐化而形成。采薇海山群玄武岩主量元素特征与夏威夷岛碱性玄武岩类似,属碱性玄武岩;微量元素分析结果显示其具有洋岛和碱性玄武岩特征,反映其形成于碱性洋岛构造环境。     

西太平洋Lamont海山中新世以来富钴结壳成矿环境的演化

分析了西太平洋Lamont海山12个站位33个富钴结壳样品的主元素和稀土元素,结果表明,该海山富钴结壳成因类型属于水成成因,并且在形成过程中基本未受到磷酸盐化作用的影响。Lamont海山的一个富钴结壳样品剖面的电子探针数据显示,该海山富钴结壳的成矿环境在新第三纪以来至少存在2个演化阶段:第1阶段,23~15 Ma,富钴结壳中Mn相对富集,成矿环境以富氧贫硅为特征;第2阶段,15~0 Ma,富钴结壳中Fe相对富集,成矿环境以贫氧富硅为特征。成矿环境的氧化能力总体上呈现下降的趋势。联系新生代世界大洋,尤其是西太平洋的地质演化背景,认为引起成矿环境演变的原因主要是西太平洋大洋板块的WNW向漂移和新第三纪以来全球水道开合,造成了Lamont海山所处海区最低含氧带逐渐减薄。     

Seedbed of Reform: Arnold Guyot and School Geography in Massachusetts, 1849–1855

Abstract

Swiss-born Arnold Henri Guyot (1807–1884) was the first professionally trained geographer to hold an academic position in the United States. After his migration to this country in 1848 he lived for several years in Massachusetts. During this period he introduced contemporary German-Swiss ideas of geography to key opinion leaders in an important series of lectures (published as Earth and Man), established a system of weather stations, and lectured on methods of teaching geography in Massachusetts teachers' institutes and normal schools. This article discusses Guyot's work in the reform of school geography in Massachusetts as the seedbed for his later, better-known work as the author of innovative textbooks and other teaching aids.     

维嘉平顶海山富钴铁锰结壳空间分布特征:基于“蛟龙号”载人潜水器近海底观测资料的分析

基于对具有高精度水下定位功能的载人潜水器“蛟龙号”近海底观测视像资料数据的分析研究,本文首次报道了维嘉平顶海山山顶平台凸起区域、顶坡过渡带以及斜坡上部地形单元内的富钴结壳分布特征,对我国富钴结壳资源勘查评价具有重要意义。研究表明:(1)不同地形单元发育的富钴结壳具有明显不同的分布特征;(2)山顶平台凸起区发育有连续分布的富钴结壳,可作为我国富钴结壳资源勘查工作的关注区;(3)顶坡过渡带—斜坡上部区域发育有连续分布的富钴结壳,然而往往被白色波纹状沉积物隔成数段;(4)顶坡过渡带钴结核发育较少,与马尔库斯—威克海山群平顶海山存在明显的不同。