manganese nodules
Ocean floor concretions
Manganese nodules are potato-sized mineral formations found on the ocean floor, composed mainly of manganese and iron oxides with valuable traces of nickel, copper, and cobalt.
They form over millions of years as metals precipitate around a nucleus like a shark tooth or shell fragment.
Deep-sea mining interests have long eyed them as a mineral resource, though extraction remains technically challenging and environmentally controversial.
Collected mass over time
- millenniaThousand-year periods
- sedimentationParticles settling in liquid
- concretionAccumulated solid mass
- precipitationAtmospheric water deposit
crystallization · mineralization · laminated · incremental · accretion · nucleation · layered · spheroidal
Underwater terrain below
- deep-sea miningRetrieving minerals from ocean floors
- benthicOf the sea bottom
- ocean floorUnderwater continental surface
- sedimentParticles settling in liquid
concretions · hydrothermal · Pacific Ocean · exploration · pelagic · submarine · continental shelf · ooze
accumulation
Collected mass over time
- millenniaThousand-year periods
- sedimentationParticles settling in liquid
- concretionAccumulated solid mass
precipitation · crystallization · mineralization · laminated · incremental · accretion · nucleation · layered · spheroidal · encrustation
seabed
Underwater terrain below
- deep-sea miningRetrieving minerals from ocean floors
- benthicOf the sea bottom
- ocean floorUnderwater continental surface
sediment · concretions · hydrothermal · Pacific Ocean · exploration · pelagic · submarine · continental shelf · ooze · biogenic
- ocean resourcesfish stocks, seafood, fisheries, shellfish, kelp
- ocean floorseafloor, ocean floor, deep sea floor, oceanic crust, mid-ocean ridge
- seafloorseabed, seafloor, ocean floor, mid-ocean ridge, sea bed
- Manganese
- Manganese Mineralswad
- ocean sedimentsred clay, sediment layers, ooze, glacial deposits, volcanic ash
manganese nodulesvolcanic rock
Cooled magma material
lava flows · pumice · hydrothermal vents · basalt · black smokers
manganese nodulescoral reefs
Calcium carbonate marine structures
coral formations · coral · stromatolites · kelp forests · seagrass beds