Significant contribution of subseafloor microparticles to the global manganese budget

Go-Ichiro Uramoto, Yuki Morono, Naotaka Tomioka, Shigeyuki Wakaki, Ryoichi Nakada, Rota Wagai, Kentaro Uesugi, Akihisa Takeuchi, Masato Hoshino, Yoshio Suzuki, Fumito Shiraishi, Satoshi Mitsunobu, Hiroki Suga, Yasuo Takeichi, Yoshio Takahashi and Fumio Inagaki ()
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Go-Ichiro Uramoto: Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC)
Yuki Morono: Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC)
Naotaka Tomioka: Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC)
Shigeyuki Wakaki: Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC)
Ryoichi Nakada: Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC)
Rota Wagai: National Agriculture and Food Research Organization
Kentaro Uesugi: Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute
Akihisa Takeuchi: Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute
Masato Hoshino: Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute
Yoshio Suzuki: Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute
Fumito Shiraishi: Hiroshima University
Satoshi Mitsunobu: Ehime University
Hiroki Suga: Hiroshima University
Yasuo Takeichi: High Energy Accelerator Research Organization
Yoshio Takahashi: The University of Tokyo
Fumio Inagaki: Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC)

Nature Communications, 2019, vol. 10, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract Ferromanganese minerals are widely distributed in subseafloor sediments and on the seafloor in oceanic abyssal plains. Assessing their input, formation and preservation is important for understanding the global marine manganese cycle and associated trace elements. However, the extent of ferromanganese minerals buried in subseafloor sediments remains unclear. Here we show that abundant (108–109 particles cm−3) micrometer-scale ferromanganese mineral particles (Mn-microparticles) are found in the oxic pelagic clays of the South Pacific Gyre (SPG) from the seafloor to the ~100 million-year-old sediments above the basement. Three-dimensional micro-texture, and major and trace element compositional analyses revealed that these Mn-microparticles consist of poorly crystalline ferromanganese oxides precipitating from bottom water. Based on our findings, we extrapolate that 1.5–8.8 × 1028 Mn-microparticles, accounting for 1.28–7.62 Tt of manganese, are globally present in oxic subseafloor sediments. This estimate is at least two orders of magnitude larger than the manganese budget for nodules and crusts on the seafloor. Subseafloor Mn-microparticles thus contribute significantly to the global manganese budget.

Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-08347-2

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