Measurement of53Mn in deep-sea iron and stony spherules

Cosmic-ray-produced⁵³Mn (t_1/2 = 3.7 × 10⁶years) was measured in individual and groups of deep-sea iron and stony spherules by highly sensitive neutron activation analysis. The activities found were less than 20 dpm⁵³Mn/kg Fe (10^?5?10^?6 dpm⁵³Mn/sample) in iron spherules except one iron spherule whose activity was 241 ± 73 dpm⁵³Mn/kg Fe. These low activities may indicate evaporative loss of⁵³Mn due to heating in the earth's atmosphere. On the other hand, all stony spherules contained 200–260 dpm⁵³Mn/kg Fe which is similar to chondritic values. These spherules may be ablation debris from large objects.